It’s a persistent convention that we have witnessed with time, that we chase ‘popular’ inclinations. We chase one single reaction, without settling back, taking a pause and try to look beyond—whether it remains political, art or some other spectrums, it’s a loop. Stalwarts fall for it, so do we and so does the ever-glamourous Bollywood. The hush-hush chase doesn’t just end—and we recently heard it from the OG Karan Johar himself, pointing out ‘director crisis’ and chasing the South Indian formula.
South Indian cinema has undeniably courted it. The takeover was gigantic, ever since Baahubali hit the theatres. However, the same Karan Johar decided to distribute the film in the north belt—for business is business, and every penny counts. And that’s what lured the shift we see today. The merge is happening ever since; audience is all gaga over South actors; propelling Bollywood to collaborate.
So, is the collaboration successful? Well, anything that’s done in attempt to ‘chase’ can’t be. We put everything on a mathematical extravaganza and stumble. War 2 is the recent victim.
Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s War 2 was expected to be a cinematic thunderclap—a perfect blend of Bollywood brawn and South Indian star power. But the reality hit different. The film has stumbled hard at the box office, falling short of the massive expectations that preceded it. Trade experts point to the usual culprits: weak content, genre fatigue, and execution that simply didn’t match the scale. Despite the promise of a pan-India spectacle, War 2 ends up as yet another reminder that spectacle without substance rarely wins the war.
It doesn’t end with War 2. The list of high-profile casualties is long. Devara: Part 1, despite a thunderous opening and Jr. NTR’s magnetic screen presence, finds itself treading a similar path. The film, also starring Janhvi Kapoor, dazzled with its technical finesse—grand visuals, polished VFX, and scale to spare. But once the opening weekend glow faded, so did the buzz. Mixed reviews began to surface, with many pointing fingers at a storyline that simply didn’t carry the weight of its ambition. Another reminder that no amount of gloss can rescue a film that lacks grip.
Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday’s Liger was expected to be the film that would quench the industry’s long-standing dry spell. Marketed as a grand Pan-India splendour, it arrived with giant promotions, nationwide buzz, and sky-high expectations. But when it finally hit the screens, the excitement quickly gave way to gloom. Both critics and audiences were left underwhelmed, and what followed was a sharp crash—poor reviews, negative word of mouth, and a box office skit that failed to justify the hype. Another big swing that missed, and missed hard.
Baby John, starring Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh, was yet another misfire in the long list of underwhelming Pan-India attempts. Touted as a full-blown mass entertainer, the film arrived with all the usual noise—heavy promotions, slick action, and star power. But none of it translated where it mattered. After a decent start, the collections took a steep dive, hauled down by vicious reviews and poor word-of-mouth. Audiences simply weren’t buying it, and what was meant to be a crowd-puller ended up as another box office loss.
Game Changer, starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani, was anything but what its title promised. Despite the star power and scale, Game Changer drastically underperformed, managing to earn only ₹131 crore in India against a reported budget of ₹400 crore. The numbers tell the story—endeavour alone can’t maintain a film across the finish line, especially when the content dies to hook.
Yudhra, starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan, became another series entry among theatrical disasters. The less-than-explosive opening, High-octane action sequences-does not flow through the momentum. The collections plunged by-the-day-and never managed to come back into profit. Yudhra found another platform on Amazon Prime Video to seek some post-release attention, but the film’s theatrical life was anything but successful. Yet another scenario where online chatter failed to wipe out the box-office burnout.
There had been high-profile south-Bollywood actor collaborations that never really clicked with the audience, so the industry is largely watching SS Rajamouli’s upcoming SSMB29 project with a lot of hope but also a little bit of doubt. This combination never performed earlier, and the buzz created by the Mahesh Babu-Priyanka Chopra combination is just great.
The real challenge lies in wrecking free from this unending cycle of stalking formulas and transient trends. Until the focus shifts back to genuine storytelling and meaningful collaboration, the pattern of hits and misses is bound to persist.
