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There are good movies, there are average movies, there are dumpster of movies, and there are movies that just not worth it. In this special year-ender feature, I am going to write about those hyped films that irked the viewer in me, made me regret those two or three odd hours spent in the theatre hall, which I could have spent basically doing anything else and still would have felt even better about it. Just a fair warning, a couple of these movies have worked well at the box office, clearly showing that the audience's likes these days ain't syncing with my thoughts. But maybe it is time for me to call spade a spade here. You can share your thoughts on how wrong I am in the comments section below. Year Ender 2021: From Salman Khan’s Radhe to John Abraham’s Satyameva Jayate 2, Looking at 11 Cringe Bollywood Movies of 2021 That Left Us Annoyed AF!
So without further ado, here are the ten Bollywood films of 2022 that annoyed the hell out of me. PS: I am only considering theatrical releases in this list, and have done my best to keep Akshay Kumar's films at best to two here. Believe me, the latter was quite a challenging task, considering how errr... disinvested and nonchalant the National Award winning actor was about his films this year.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
The first Bhool Bhulaiya was a decent remake of the Malayalam classic Manichitrathazhu. It was a film that tried to dispel superstitions and ghosts and tried to seek rationality in blind beliefs. This sequel, however, not only disposed off Akshay Kumar but also to an adherence to rationality, instead reveling in ghosts and superstitions and crass, below-the-belt and OTT humour. Yes, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is a huge hit but that doesn't absolve how terrible the film is, even if it dares to put Tabu in a very predictable plot reveal that is inspired from a Thai horror film, Alone. For someone who grew up on films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Andaz Apna Apna, it was hard for me to find humour in any of the bad jokes. Why the director Anees Bazmee himself had made funnier films in the past like No Entry and Welcome. BB12 might be his biggest hit, but it ranks among his most annoying films as well.
Heropanti 2
Some of the accusations towards Bollywood about giving scant respect to the making do hold true at times, in the wake of films like RRR, Vikram and Kantara from South. See Heropanti 2 for example. What could have been a stylish action vehicle is turned into an unbearable mess with terrible action sequences, atrocious performances (looking at you, Tara Sutaria) and cringe comedy. I feel bad for Tiger Shroff, who may not be a good actor, but give him the right director, and he could have gone in the same league as the likes of Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais. Please give him that!
Ek Villain Returns
The first Ek Villain had mesmerising music and Riteish Deshmukh in stellar mode. The sequel has, well, none of the things that made the original at least bearable. The performances range from average (Arjun Kapoor) to plain disinterested (John Abraham) to outright bad (both the leading ladies). Even the ample bold scenes, especially from Disha Patani, and the ultra-violence ain't enough to save this thriller for being one of the worst movies of the year.
Samrat Prithviraj
The first of the two Akshay films that managed to beat stiff competition to reach this list. Samrat Prithviraj's biggest failing, apart from its inaccuracy to history (who cares about that as long as the film is inclining to a particular agenda, right?), is the casting of its lead man. Akshay is a very good actor, but he is a terrible fit in the role, that should have seen a younger actor cast as the doomed king, and acts with minimal commitment to the role. This is made even more evident when the actress cast opposite him - Manushi Chhillar - makes him look even older. The terribly choreographed war scenes and over-melodramatic treatment do little to make things better. From Salman Khan’s Radhe to Janhvi Kapoor’s Roohi, 7 Worst Bollywood Movies of 2021 as per IMDb, Ranked!
Liger
Liger was so bad that the Telugu and the Hindi fans were fighting with each other in arguing if it is a Telugu film or a Bollywood movie. I would side with the Bollywood argument, because the PR campaign of the film pre-release hyped Liger as Vijay Deverakonda's Bollywood debut. From its dumb name to its screechy performances to its totally insane plot, everything about Liger screams bad. By the end of the film, I wished I was paid the same amount of money Mike Tyson was paid to embarrass himself for a cameo role, just so I forget I watched this film ever. PS: Radheshyam just escaped the cut here, because even though it was a bilingual made in Hindi as well, the movie was much more of a Telugu film. For the sake of Prabhas fans, let's hope Adipurush doesn't make it to the list next year.
Laal Singh Chaddha
In comparison to all the other films in the list, Laal Singh Chaddha is the better of the lot. There are some good performances here, especially from Mona Singh and Kareena Kapoor Khan, there is a charming Shah Rukh Khan cameo, and a couple of tweaks done to the original script that make some scenes better. And yet I can't help but add LSC to the list, purely because how needless the film is in its existence and that's what makes it annoying. Remaking a movie like Forrest Gump was never a good idea, and what's more, Aamir Khan was very, very bad in the lead role. LSC may not be a disaster, but it is a very forgettable movie, and considering it has Aamir Khan in the lead, that's a real tragedy.
Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva
Yes, I know some of you are already rolling your eyes, and are asking if I am jealous of films like BB2 and Brahmastra which went onto make buttloads of money at the box office. While I am glad the producers made money, I am annoyed that I am deprived of the opportunity of getting to watch a good film despite the resources and the talent involved. Ayan Mukerji's film is so engrossed in going for universe-building that it forgot to make its building blocks stronger. Yes, some of the VFX is quite good, but the over-indulgence of CGI, addled with a loud BG score, felt like a lethal attack on our senses. Even the performances are underwhelming with actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt floundering with their weakly written characters. What can you say, when even a usually charming Shah Rukh Khan is seen struggling to make the terrible dialogues look appealing.
Ram Setu
The second Akshay Kumar film to enter this list. Look, I know what Akshay is trying to do with his films, trying to appease his supposed right-wing fans. But I need to question why is he, or rather the makers of these films of his, depriving the so-called fans from a well-made film that at least boasts of decent production design. Instead, we have a Ram Setu, a shoddily shot adventure film that put Indiana Jones films to shame just for belonging to same genre as this!
Thank God
Ajay Devgn may have ended 2022 with a blockbuster hit in Drishyam 2, so it is easy to forget that he delivered an absolute dud the very day that Ram Setu arrived in theatres. The Indra Kumar comedy may have an interesting premise, but the WhatsApp-based jokes often fall flat, Sidharth Malhotra looks very bored and even a sizzling Nora Fatehi item song isn't enough to keep anything engaging here!
Cirkus
The signs were there in the trailer itself when the only exciting moments in the 3-minute long promo was Deepika Padukone's song cameo and the Golmaal Again gang as kids at the end of the trailer. While Deepika's song was still fun to watch, the Golmaal Easter Egg only came at the end of the film and was nothing but a playful nod. Otherwise, Cirkus is a surprisingly bore of a film that struggles to bring in the laughs, save for the ever-game Sanjay Mishra, who is funny despite the usual schtick given to him by Rohit Shetty since All The Best days. If a movie can make Ranveer Singh look like a miscast, imagine how bad it is!
(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 24, 2022 05:47 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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