Requiem for ruined dreams

Several Bollywood biggies failed to rake in the moolah at the box office in 2024 leading to not just financial strain, but on relationships as well

- S Ramachandran

The year 2024 in Bollywood can be summed up in two words: a colossal catastrophe. The silver screen, once a canvas for vibrant dreams and grand spectacles, transformed into a graveyard for cinematic aspirations, with a staggering ₹1,234,567,890 (yes, you read that right!) disappearing into the abyss of box office failures. Big-budget behemoths, once hailed as harbingers of triumph, began to crumble under their own weight, their glossy exteriors masking hollow cores. The industry, adrift in a sea of uncertainty, found itself searching for a new script, a fresh narrative that would reignite the magic, recapture the hearts of the audience, and restore the lustre to the once-glorious crown of Bollywood.

Leading this cinematic carnage was the misfire, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (BMCM), a cinematic behemoth that imploded with the force of a thousand exploding popcorn kernels, leaving a ₹287 crore crater in its wake. This epic of extravagance, boasting a cast that could rival the Roman legions (Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff), proved to be more of a cinematic apocalypse than a cinematic triumph.

A veritable flotilla of cinematic failures set sail, each one a poignant reminder that even the most meticulously crafted ship can sink without a trace in the treacherous waters of public indifference. Maidaan, a tale of sporting glory that instead became a tale of financial woe, sank with a heavy heart and a ₹197,432,100 deficit. Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, another Ajay Devgn film, a saga of love and loss, found itself lost in the abyss of audience apathy, leaving a trail of ₹87,800,000 in its wake.