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Akshay Kumar just can't catch a break, can he? After delivering back-to-back duds with Mission Raniganj and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the Bollywood superstar ended up with an even bigger commercial failure with his latest release, Sarfira. A remake of the 2020 Tamil film, Soorarai Pottru, the Hindi adaptation was helmed by Sudha Kongara, who also directed the original. Suriya, who played the lead in the original, served as a producer for the remake and even had a cameo in Sarfira. Although Sarfira received some positive reviews, praising the performances of Akshay Kumar and Radhikka Madan, the film was a major letdown in the first week of its theatrical release. ‘Sarfira’ Movie Review: Radhika Madan Outshines Akshay Kumar in This Mawkish Remake of Suriya’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’.
At the end of its first week, Sarfira only earned about INR 17.85 crore, which should have been the movie's first-day collection given Akshay Kumar's superstardom. The film reportedly cost INR 80 crore to make, and it seems highly unlikely that Sarfira will recover that cost through its theatrical run, with reports of theatres even reducing the shows and giving them to Kalki 2898 AD.
So, what went wrong with Sarfira? In this feature, we look at five major reasons why the film bombed at the box office.
1. Akshay Kumar's Poor Run at the Box Office
Let's address the elephant in the room. Post-pandemic, Akshay Kumar has lost his connect with his audience. Before 2020, the actor was delivering successive hits, but from 2021, he has struggled, with his only two successes being Sooryavanshi and OMG 2 (where he had more of an extended cameo) among 12 theatrical releases. His other movies have been washouts at the theatres, with the audience in no mood to visit cinemas to watch his films, even when he tries different genres like alt-religion (Ram Setu), history (Samrat Prithviraj), or action (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan). Viewers are tired of not finding anything novel in his movies or are dissatisfied with the lack of technical finesse often accused of his films.
With Sarfira being one of his worst flops to date, if Akshay Kumar doesn't take time to introspect now about how he selects his movies, when will he? The benchmark shouldn't just be that the film is better than BMCM or Selfiee; audiences don't want to waste their money on these benchmarks when there are other films with better value for money running on the next screen. ‘Sarfira’ Box Office: Over 40 Akshay Kumar Movies Had Better Opening Weekend Collections Than His ‘Sooorarai Pottru’ Remake.
2. A Remake No One Asked For
When the film dropped directly on Prime Video in 2020, Soorarai Pottru enjoyed good reviews and positive word of mouth from viewers. However, it was a direct OTT release, and we can't be sure how it would have fared at the box office. Keeping that thought aside, Bollywood audiences are now seemingly tired of remakes of popular regional films, with most of them flopping at the box office. Only Ajay Devgn seems lucky in this aspect, delivering hits with Drishyam 2 (benefitting from its franchise value) and Shaitaan (that many didn't know was a remake of a Gujarati film). Viewers had already lost interest in the Soorarai Pottru remake when it was announced, as many of them had already seen it during the pandemic. So, even if you are remaking the film with the blessings of the original team, that isn't enough to lure the audience. Especially when Sarfira is not bringing anything new to the table except making its protagonist a Maharashtrian. Bollywood, please read the room; it's time to be original.
3. Biopics Aren't Earning Money at the Box Office
Has Bollywood delivered a big hit with biopics post Dangal's blockbuster run? Even though the industry has been churning out biopics left, right, and centre, these movies are hardly becoming money-grossers, even when they get decent reviews. 2024 itself is a prime example, with films like Maidaan, Chandu Champion, and now Sarfira all failing at the box office. Rajkummar Rao's Srikanth was, at best, an average grosser. Additionally, if the genre isn't making much money, producers should consider budget control. You cannot make these movies on a big budget when high returns aren't guaranteed. Chandu Champion Box Office: Kartik Aaryan-Starrer is Kabir Khan's Third-Lowest Opening Weekend Grosser; Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan Takes Top Spot!
4. Low Promotional Buzz
Was there much buzz about Sarfira before its release? The trailer generated some online interest with the promise of being a better Akshay Kumar film that what you have been getting this year, but after that, not much. Even the songs didn't click with the target audience. So, can we blame them for not realising the film dropped in theatres on the same day as the much-hyped Indian 2? Not that Indian 2 was particularly good (it is actually worse than Sarfira), but it managed to overshadow Sarfira's buzz, nearly obliterating its presence. ‘Indian 2’ Movie Review: Kamal Haasan’s Senapathy Makes a Tedious Return in Shankar’s Worst Film to Date!
5. Sandwiched Between Releases
We are not here to tell Akshay how many films he should do, but it is hard to ignore that he had a release (BMCM) just a couple of months before Sarfira, which also flopped at the box office. Additionally, Sarfira was released when Kalki 2898 AD was doing well in theatres, even the Hindi version. It was released alongside Indian 2, which dominated the South markets, at least in the opening weekend. In the second week, Sarfira is set to be decimated by Bad Newz, which comes to theatres with better hype thanks to its music, colourful promotions, and trailers. What's more, Akshay has another release within a month, Khel Khel Mein, coming in theatres on August 15, alongside Stree 2 and Vedaa. Can people learn some lessons here, please?
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2024 10:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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