Bollywood's star-studded movie suffers Rs 20mn setback

Bollywood saw its fair share of hits and misses in 2023, with some films raking in crores while others struggled to recover their production costs and one such film that failed to make a mark was “Ganapath,” directed by Vikas Bahl.

Despite a star-studded cast featuring Tiger Shroff, Kriti Sanon, and Amitabh Bachchan, the sci-fi thriller, released in October 2023, turned out to be the biggest flop of the year.

“Ganapath” was made on a staggering budget of Rs 190 crore. However, it managed to earn only Rs 10 crore at the box office. The film’s storyline did not resonate with the audience, and critics were harsh in their reviews.

Vikas Bahl, in an interview, revealed that he experienced significant self-doubt throughout the production process. He admitted that he struggled to understand the direction in which the story was heading, and this uncertainty was reflected in the final product.

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The film was announced in November 2020, and after a prolonged production period, it finally hit the big screens in 2023. The shooting took place in various locations, including the United Kingdom, Ladakh, and Mumbai. Despite the picturesque settings and high production values, “Ganapath” failed to captivate the audience.

Bahl described “Ganapath” as his dream project, but as he began working on it, the story started to deviate from his original vision. This deviation led to a lack of coherence in the narrative, which was one of the major criticisms from both audiences and critics.

The film’s poor performance at the box office was a significant blow to Bahl, who had previously directed successful films like “Queen.”

Tiger Shroff, known for his action-packed roles, could not save “Ganapath” from its fate. The film’s failure was a stark contrast to his previous successes. Kriti Sanon and Amitabh Bachchan, despite their stellar performances, could not salvage the film either.