Surprising flops of Bollywood

Umrao Jaan Umrao Jaan isn’t a film, it’s poetry. The tragic tale of Lucknow’s famous courtesan is captivating enough to bring out emotions out of the coldest of hearts. It is an artful depiction of Lucknow’s rich cultural history. Rekha’s role as Umrao Jaan has been immortalised with songs like "Inn aakhon ki masti" and "Dil cheez kya hai." The 2006 remake of Umrao Jaan with Aishwarya Rai met severe criticism and even vandalism at several cinemas. That is the kind of reverence Umrao Jaan has instilled. A film like that deserves cult status. Why was it a flop then? Probably because the audience was too stunned by the beauty of it all.Mera Naam Joker It took Raj Kapoor six years and an investment of his personal fortune to make this cinematographic monument. At four hours fifteen minutes, this is one of the longest Indian films ever made and has two intermissions. But one can surely agree that the poignant storytelling demanded that. Mera Naam Joker is a movie that’ll make you weep along with the protagonist, the lone clown who masks his feelings under a painted face. Haunting melodies like "Jeena yahaan, marna yahaan" and "Jaane kahaan gaye woh din" make Mera Naam Joker a beautiful melancholic saga. But it was a catastrophic disaster. But what is beautiful, will always remain so, even if you only realise it much later. LamheDirected by Yash Raj and co-written by the talented Honey Irani and Rahi Masoom Raza, if Lamhe was released today with those names attached to it, it would surely have recouped its production cost. Their new vision of love and romance is often cited as the reason for the film’s failure, but it also accounts for its blazing originality. Lamhe explored a theme that was perhaps too hard for the Indian audience to digest. Over a period of time, the film was appreciated and eventually became a cult classic. It is considered to be one of the best films of Bollywood. It’s an uncommon marriage of artistic sensibilities that work in the same way as Shuddh Desi Romance. Yash Raj is a blockbuster director with a penchant for exotic/foreign locations whereas Honey Irani’s roots were in the Mumbai art world. Together they used the plot to explore wider themes of relationship, feminism and vision. Sridevi is extraordinary as both mother and daughter, which was another double role but it was unlike any played before.Andaz Apna ApnaFor Hindi movie buffs, Andaz Apna Apna is a must-watch and is considered as an iconic Bollywood comedy starring Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. Replete with humorous dialogue and fantastic performances by Aamir and Salman, the film, though a flop in its time, now has a cult following, especially amongst the youth today. A sequel to the film is in the offing for a long time now. Although its cumbersome title is responsible to some extent for its failure, it was its promise of pure comedy – as opposed to slapstick – that is likely to have turned off audiences. Rajkumar Santoshi simultaneously celebrated and re-imagined the myths of the quintessential Bollywood romance.