The year that Bollywood bled

Updated On: 29 December, 2022 07:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Upala KBR

Trade dubs 2022 as worst year for Hindi film industry with losses running up to Rs 2,000 cr; blames stars’ high fees, lack of novel content

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Anek

When 2022 came knocking, the Hindi film industry thought that the worst was over. After two years of the pandemic and consequent shutdown of theatres, Bollywood was ready to bounce back in action in 2022. But 12 months on, the picture is grim. Trade analysts have dubbed it as the worst year of Hindi cinema, when only four movies — `Drishyam 2`, `Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2`, `Gangubai Kathiawadi` and `The Kashmir Files` — became hits, while mega-budget project `Brahmāstra: Part One — Shiva` managed to break even. What about the other biggies? From Aamir Khan’s `Laal Singh Chaddha`, to Akshay Kumar’s `Samrat Prithviraj` and `Raksha Bandhan`, from Ayushmann Khurrana’s `Anek` and `Doctor G`, to Rajkummar Rao’s `Badhaai Do` and `HIT: The First Case`, from the well-intentioned to the masala potboilers — films crashed and burned at the box office.

Laal Singh Chaddha and Samrat Prithviraj released amid high expectations, but sank at the box office