Ten films that weren’t really what they seemed
4 min read 08 Dec 2015, 02:04 PM ISTHate Story 3, Barfi!, Murder 3a list of films that didn't turn out anything like they had seemed, either to their advantage or otherwise
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New Delhi: Director Vishal Pandya’s Hate Story 3, a ₹ 6.5 crore budget film has kicked in opening weekend collections of nearly ₹ 27 crore, according to trade analyst Taran Adarsh. Not surprisingly, critics have lamented the absence of a coherent plot or even one decent performance in what was perceived as an outright erotic thriller that doesn’t even deliver in that respect.
Here are 10 other films that didn’t turn out anything like they had seemed, either to their advantage or otherwise.
1. Barfi! (2012): The relationship that an impoverished deaf and mute boy shares with two women in his life—one who abandons him for someone else and another who is autistic—made for the ultimate tear-jerker. Or so everyone thought. However, the Anurag Basu-directed film turned out to be all smiles and sunshine, full of bright songs, frothy situations, lots of laughter and plenty of slapstick comedy. The film not just won lead actor Ranbir Kapoor every award that season but earned more than ₹ 112 crore at the box office.
2. Table No. 21 (2013): Again an erotic-seeming mystery thriller, Table No. 21 was directed by Aditya Datt and starred Paresh Rawal, Rajeev Khandelwal and Tina Desai. It, however, went on to raise the pertinent issue of ragging and its psychological effects. Despite the slick vibe and social message, the film earned only slightly over ₹ 10 crore.
3. Murder 3 (2013): Touted as yet another erotic thriller from the Bhatt camp, Murder 3 featured Randeep Hooda, Aditi Rao Hydari and Sara Loren. While those expecting some generous sleaze were in for a surprise, the film turned out to be a decent psychological drama with Hydari locked up in a secret part of her own house for a major portion of the running time. The Vishesh Bhatt-directed film did fairly well, earning ₹ 23 crore at the box office.
4. Akaash Vani (2013): After delivering a surprise hit with Pyaar Ka Punchnama, it was presumed that director Luv Ranjan wouldn’t explore too dissimilar a territory with the new romantic film. The Kartik Aaryan and Nushrat Bharucha-starrer, however, was a strong take on domestic abuse and societal perceptions of only physical harm amounting to violence in a marriage. Hardly lapped up by audiences, the film made slightly over ₹ 2 crore at the box office.
5. Dedh Ishqiya (2014): The black comedy thriller was more than just about a gang of petty crooks trying to outdo each other. Director Abhishek Chaubey’s sequel to his 2010 hit starring Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi and Huma Qureshi explored, at its core, a very unusual relationship between the two women. Thanks to that and other complex details and the old-world feel, the film only made ₹ 27 crore at the box office.
6. Highway (2014): For the teenager straight out of Karan Johar’s frothy student world, Highway was a revelation for Alia Bhatt. Not exactly dealing with the romantic relationship the pampered daughter of a rich business family develops with her kidnapper, the film focused on the rarely discussed issue of Stockholm syndrome and the experiences that help the girl come of age and discover her true self. The Imtiaz Ali film received mixed reviews and made only ₹ 30 crore in box office collections.
7. Fugly (2014): Starring four newcomers, the Akshay Kumar-produced film seemed all fun and harmless, a comment on the attitude prevalent among the young today. Not that it managed to generate any interest, but the Kabir Sadanand-directed film explored how the youth could make a difference if it decides to take matters in its hand when issues bother and affect them directly. Despite a fairly sincere second half, the film made only slightly over ₹ 12 crore.
8. Bobby Jasoos (2014): What seemed like an out-and-out comedy, an unusual one at that for it revolved around a female who played a detective—emerged as a serious and ultimately dark thriller. Besides, the Vidya Balan-starrer was also a social comment on how certain jobs are seen as out-of-bounds for women and those doing them are inevitably looked down upon. Directed by Samar Sheikh, the film earned merely ₹ 11 crore at the box office.
9. Heropanti (2014): The romantic action film may have primarily been a vehicle to flaunt Tiger Shroff’s fighting and dancing skills. But soon into the second half, it also became a father-daughter story ripe with emotions about how tough it is for a parent to accept their child breaking all bonds with them for a stranger that the parents may not approve of. The cheap thrills worked especially for single screen, bringing in more than ₹ 50 crore as box office collections.
10. Roy (2015): Debutant director Vikramjit Singh’s film seemed like a sleek and stylish love triangle supplemented with three fairly popular faces and a much-loved music score. Far from that, the romantic drama was an esoteric tale in which actor Ranbir Kapoor didn’t even actually exist. His fictionalized part complicated things to such an extent that despite the picturesque locations, the film sank without a trace at the box office, making only about ₹ 44 crore.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Bollywood Hungama.
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