The month of August has been a very busy period for Bollywood what with all the clashes. Same is going to happen with September too. But before we get into that, let's talk about how August has been for Bollywood when it comes to the quality of films that came out in the month. August has not witnessed a Sanju like blockbuster, with the highest grossing film being Akshay Kumar's Gold that barely managed to get to the Rs 100 crore mark, despite getting an awesome start of Rs 25 crore on opening day.

Satyameva Jayate, starring John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee, turned out to be the most profitable of the releases thanks to the holiday advantage, the genre and being made on low cost. That said, some of the best films that came out in the month of August didn't click much at the box office, making us wonder what the audiences exactly want from our films.

In this special feature, we are ranking all the major released in the month of August, based on their content, from the worst to the best. We will also mention the box office figures (sourced from Bollywood Hungama). So starting off with the movies that we didn't like at all -

Genius

Despite the earnestness of the debutant Utkarsh Sharma and the promising premise, Genius suffers from poor execution and bad writing. Even a gimmicky Nawazuddin Siddiqui couldn't save the film.

Box office - Rs 4.30 crore (Disaster)

Vishwaroop II 

Kamal Haasan's bilingual spy thriller had some well-executed hand-to-hand action sequences. But the movie felt like a disjointed affair, with the delays in release, seen clearly in the final product. Not a film we expect from one of the finest actors in the country.

Box office - Rs 4.08 crore (Disaster) (only the Hindi collections)

Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se

The Deols might have high hopes from the YPD franchise, but the latest instalment is the lamest entry in the series. Filled with stale jokes made on caricatures and repetitive gags, this is definitely not the film we like to see Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol in. Salman Khan's cameo comes too late, and it is one of the worst appearances that we have seen Bhai in.

Box office - Rs 4.25 crore (Released on last day)

Satyameva Jayate

Among the films in this list, it is this movie that turns out to be the most profitable. However, Satyameva Jayate is also an example that even bad films can have a good run at the box office if promoted well. The action thriller is filled with some very ridiculous moments and OTT acting, and feels like a remnant of a bygone era. Even a usually dependable Manoj Bajpayee hams like there is no tomorrow.

Box office - Rs 78.75 crore (Hit)

Fanney Khan

Among all the films released last month, Fanney Khan might be the most disappointing of the lot. With a cast like Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao and Divya Dutta, we expected a heartwarming story on the lines of Secret Superstar. What we got was a laughably awful mishmash of ideas and a terrible climax that wasted ARB and Rajkummar Rao's talents. Only poor Anil Kapoor came out of this mess with his reputation intact.

Box office - Rs 10.55 crore (Flop)

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

The first film was surprisingly delightful. The sequel had the laughs too, mostly through Jimmy Sheirgill and Piyush Mishra. However, the screenplay gets dragged too much in the second half and the premise is nonsensical. Also not a fan of sidelining the leads of the first film, Diana Penty and Ali Fazal (and ignoring Abhay Deol altogether), for the bigger star in the cast (Sonakshi Sinha). Still, quite a decent movie for the laughs that it offers.

Box office - Rs 17.68 crore (Flop)

Gold

There was a really awesome movie hidden in Gold under those thick layers of unwanted jingoism, Akshay's fake Bengali accent, and so many parallels to Chak De India. The performances, save for the lead stars, are really good and the premise was fantastic. This could have been Akshay's first Rs 200 crore hit but instead struggled to reach Rs 100 crore mark. Well, we might have to wait for 2.0 for that!

Box office - Rs 104 crore (Hit)

Karwaan

Karwaan is boggled with an average first half and that it came out with two other films. Irrfan, while fantastic, feels quite redundant in the film when it comes to his character. However, the movie comes to its own in the second half with some well-written scenes between Dulquer and Mithila. Will definitely leave you with a smile on your face by the end. Also, Dulquer Salmaan, welcome to Bollywood!

Box office - Rs 19.03 crore (Flop)

Stree 

Horror comedy is a tricky genre to make and that explains why Bollywood often shies away from making a movie like Stree. However, Raj & DK, the directors of Go Goa Gone, are hell-bent on showing that the idea has potential. Although they haven't directed the film (Amar Kaushik does a good job of that), their writing shines nearly throughout. Stree is more about laughs than scares, but who is complaining when the jokes are so good and the performances are fantastic! Everyone in the cast is really good, especially a scene-stealing Pankaj Tripathi. The only downer is a weak conclusion that unravels some of the goodness that the movie has done before.

Box office - Rs 17.69 crore (Released on last day)

Mulk

It is truly sad that some of the bigots, with some weak marketing for the company, made the audiences ignore this gem of a movie. Mulk, easily the best film that Anubhav Sinha has made, is more of a conversation that we need to be a part of right now. Filled with some excellent performances, mainly from Rishi Kapoor and Taapsee Pannu, and some strong narrative, Mulk is intense and questions you on your own outlook towards your fellow countrymen.

Box office - Rs 20.94 crore (Average)

Agree with our ranking? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2018 05:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).