Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi to go past Sidharth Malhotra’s Kapoor & Sons and Arjun Kapoor’s Ki & Ka as a universal success?

April 18, 2016 - 11:15 AM IST

What does Tiger Shroff's Baaghi have that Sidharth Malhotra's Kapoor & Sons and Arjun Kapoor's Ki & Ka didn't have? Well, a promise of the kind of

Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi to go past Sidharth Malhotra’s Kapoor & Sons and Arjun Kapoor’s Ki & Ka as a universal success?

entertainment quotient that isn't restricted to just the multiplexes. While Kapoor & Sons has emerged as a super hit and Ki & Ka too has been a clean Hit, both these have films have

predominantly worked at multiplexes and that too in select cosmopolitan cities. However, it is expected that Baaghi would manage to cut across boundaries, hence allowing Tiger Shroff his

second brush with all-India audience after Heropanti.

"With all due respect to both Kapoor & Sons and Ki & Ka, they were always directed to work with urban audiences. Shakun Batra's treatment of Kapoor & Sons was very upscale

whereas Balki's core subject of Ki & Ka was such that it was impossible for it work beyond the metros. Both these directors knew what they were making and their producers (Dharma, Eros) too

backed them whole heartedly, so as to market these films accordingly. In return, they got what they expected out of these films commercially," says an insider.

On the other hand Baaghi has been designed as a true-blue massy commercial entertainer, albeit with none of the South style 'masala' that had started seeping into Bollywood, before it made

an exit in a speedy fashion.

"You talk about films that have everything from action and romance to drama and music - Baaghi has it all," says a source associated with the film, "Tiger knows his strengths and this is

what is being leveraged in the film. Producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Sabbir Khan have worked with him for many months even before their first film together, Heropanti, went on floors.

Ever since then, they are all in tune with each other. Sabbir has mentored Tiger whereas Sajid has given both of them time, space and resources to come up with something that plays to their

strengths. From Heropanti to Baaghi, it has been steady."

Moreover, given Sajid's bent towards commercial cinema that works in A, B and C centres, and that too across single screens and multiplexes, Baaghi boasted of just the kind of subject that

ticked all boxes.

"For Tiger, this has turned out to be a win-win situation because amongst youngsters, very few are cutting across all segments of audiences," the insider adds, "This is just his second film and he

would eventually do all sort of films. However, he isn't yet experimenting a la Varun Dhawan [Badlapur] or Arjun Kapoor [Finding Fanny]; that would be too soon. First, it is about

establishing a loyal audience for himself. This is where Baaghi comes in handy."

Together, the team of Sajid, Sabbir and Tiger had delivered a clean hit with Heropanti. Now two years down the line, one waits to see if history is repeated with Baaghi as

well.