With Shamshera’s debacle, Yash Raj Films has given five BACK-TO-BACK flops. Trade experts share their views on whether brand YRF has got affected

By Fenil Seta -

July 29, 2022 - 4:30 PM IST

The mega debacle of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Shamshera has proved to be a huge blow for Yash Raj Films (YRF). They ended 2019 with a blockbuster War and the hit Mardaani 2. Their first film post-pandemic was Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021). It sank without a trace. This was followed by back-to-back flops like Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2021), Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022), Samrat Prithviraj and now Shamshera.

With Shamshera’s debacle, Yash Raj Films has given five BACK-TO-BACK flops. Trade experts share their views on whether brand YRF has got affected

When asked why YRF is having such a bad time, trade veteran Taran Adarsh remarked, “No one wants to plan a flop when they start a film. All these were pre-pandemic films. The watching habits changed during the pandemic. The South films showed their magic. So, the expectation from any and every Bollywood film is set at an all-time high. Many of these films may have opened to better numbers and may have fared better before the COVID struck. But in the case of Shamshera, pre or post-pandemic, the film would not have worked.”

Trade analyst Atul Mohan agreed, “Before the pandemic, all these films had some novelty value. After the pandemic, audiences have changed a lot and so has their consumption pattern.”

Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, in agreement, elaborated, “This was a pre-pandemic film. In the pandemic, the OTT has changed the content consumption pattern of the audience. So films like Shamshera are not finding any takers. Moreover, films like Pushpa, RRR and KGF - Chapter 2 also came into the light. They showed swag and larger-into-life appeal, unlike what we were used to watching in a Hindi film. When you have seen the best, then the question is whether your film matches upto it or not. The same happened with Shamshera. It was larger-than-life but it had nothing new to offer.”

Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi said, “In my opinion, this strange consumption pattern that we are witnessing right now and the kind of content that is finding appeal, there will be a tug of war between it and it’s a matter of time before we find some kind of stability around the industry knowing what kind of content to make that the consumers want to consume it at large. Only then we’ll see a lot of normalcy in terms of consumption patterns.”

Brand YRF affected?
Do these four back-to-back massive flops dent the image of brand YRF? Taran Adarsh agreed but also added, “Kabhi kabhi mausam kharaab hota hai. When you drive on a road, you’ll encounter speed breakers, roadblocks, potholes, etc. Moreover, they have two major films lined up, Pathaan with Shah Rukh Khan and Tiger 3 with Salman Khan. I am sure they’ll be back with a bang.”

Akshaye Rathi emphasized, “Certainly it gets dented. If you remember, there was another year when Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007), Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag (2007), and Aaja Nachle (2007), didn’t do well. They did manage to bounce back soon enough. Aditya Chopra is the only true blue studio producer that we have in this country. Everybody else is running their show on somebody else’s money. This is one guy who is in the business of creating IP. When you have somebody who is as hands-on involved financially in the equation, the pressure to find their mojo back and to cost correct quickly is significantly higher. When Aditya Chopra bounces back, he does it as nobody can imagine! Hence, I am really looking forward to what happens next with Pathaan and Tiger 3.”

Atul Mohan stated, “They had produced War. It had worked big time as audiences enjoyed watching two big heroes together. And they need to make such films that will make them go crazy. Viewers should also feel from the promos that this is a film that they can’t enjoy on their mobiles and that they’d rather watch it on the big screen. Normal, routine stories are passé. We need well-made larger-than-life cinema. Pathaan and Tiger 3 are the two films that can bring back the glory of YRF.”

Girish Johar said, “YRF is one of the humblest production houses. Despite delivering mammoth flops, they accepted the reality very gracefully and with humility. Sadly, for them, their biggest films got stuck in the pandemic. That’s a key reason. Secondly, their casting went wrong, with Samrat Prithviraj and Shamshera.”

When asked whether the brand gets dented, Girish Johar disagreed, “No way. Deepika ke gun shot teaser ne dekhiye kitna dhamaal macha diya”, referring to Deepika Padukone’s motion poster of Pathaan which was released by YRF on Monday, July 25.

Akshaye Rathi, too, speaks highly of the production house, “It is unfortunate. Yash Raj is a company that has stood by the theatres through the pandemic. They held back their content for the cinemas. So, all of us exhibitors root from our hearts for this company to do well. Personally, it's heartbreaking for me because there was so much in Shamashera that I was excited about. And then to see it flop has honestly been disheartening.”

Also Read: Has Ranbir Kapoor’s stardom got affected due to Shamshera’s debacle? Trade experts discuss what the way ahead should be for the actor