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.

Distributor and trade expert Raj Bansal pegs the loss at Rs. 2,000 crore. “This was the worst year for the Hindi film industry where almost every actor gave the biggest flop of their career. We expected fresh content to make up for the lost two years. Instead, it has been a nightmare where we lost over Rs. 2,000 crore worth of business. On the other hand, south films did well. Kartik Aaryan was the only successful actor in the younger lot, while Tabu [was the only] actress with two theatrical blockbusters,” he says.

So, what went wrong? Trade analyst Atul Mohan attributes it to two factors: the stars’ sky-high fees that raise a film’s budget, and dated content. “The audiences’ taste has changed in the past two years as they have been exposed to OTT content. Their standards have risen, while most filmmakers are stuck to the same [formulaic] content,” elaborates Mohan.

He adds that actors should reconsider their fees in the current scenario. “Stars should charge on a profit-sharing basis. In the south, producers don’t encourage high fees, or star entourage. The high prices of tickets have also impacted the box-office. The financial situation of the common man has suffered after the pandemic, and they will think twice before spending money on a movie.”

Next year looks optimistic as superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan will line up their offerings. But if 2022 has taught us something, it’s that content trumps star value. Film business expert Girish Johar hopes that the industry will learn from its mistakes.

“Going forward, we need to understand projects, and mediocrity can no longer be part of it. The key is to focus on storytelling and scripts. The entire system needs an overhaul — from star pricing to budgets, from ticket rates, to digital and satellite rights.”

The last three months of the year weren’t any different. Be it October offerings Goodbye and Doctor G, or Diwali releases Thank God and Ram Setu — nothing could set the cash registers ringing. It was only in mid-November that Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2 turned the tide around, crossing the Rs. 100-crore mark in its first week. Varun Dhawan’s Bhediya won much praise, but couldn’t quite translate it into box-office figures. Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus was expected to end 2022 with a bang. But it turned out to be anti-climactic, as the comedy made only Rs. 26 crores till Tuesday.

- Hiren Kotwani