5 Hit Machines Of Bollywood Whose Career Defining Performances Were One Of Their Biggest Flops

Art or commerce? When it comes to Bollywood, this debate has been there for as long as the industry. While the medium of visual arts finds its triumph in the art of filmmaking, it is also a business at the end of the day that works on numbers.

Of late, Bollywood has managed to marry art with commerce and the result has been a treat for all movie lovers, but that was not the case even a few years back. There are ample examples of poetic story-telling, artful cinematography or performances that rips your heart out not working out commercially.

Here are a few best performances of some of the most commercially successful stars of Bollywood that turned out to be the biggest flops of their career.

Ranveer Singh- Lootera

Before making us speechless with performances like Gully Boy and Padmaavat, it was with Lootera when  Ranveer made us sit up and take the actor in him seriously. The quiet and subdued role was a far cry for this happy bunny, but he made it work and beautifully at that. Unfortunately, the Vikramaditya Motwane directorial received a cold response at the box-office and was declared a flop.

Shah Rukh Khan- Swades

One of the biggest stars Bollywood has ever seen, it debatable how many people are a fan of Shah Rukh the actor over Shah Rukh the star. Shah Rukh has had so many career-defining moments in his long career of becoming the brightest star in the sky of Bollywood and most of them have struck box-office gold. But the irony was at its utmost when his powerful portrayal of Mohan Bhargava, where he actually stepped out of the shadow of his superstardom, turned out to be a dud at the box-office.

Katrina Kaif- Zero

Yet another irony that is as tragic as the film itself. Katrina Kaif has probably been one of the actresses to enter the 100, 200, 300 multiple times but her performance in those film would not please most of the serious cine-goers. It was in Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero that she played the character with nuanced layers and was pretty convincing at it. But her Babita Kumari act, even though the best of her career perhaps, was not enough to salvage this shipwreck of a flop which ultimately was declared a flop.

Hrithik Roshan- Guzaarish

If there is one person who defined over-night stardom it was Hrithik Roshan with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. From the love of the audience box-office to the nod of the critics, Hrithik’s career in Bollywood has been wholesome in every sense. But none of his performance prepared us for the sheer brilliance that was Hrithik in Guzaarish. As paraplegic Ethan Mascharanes, he gave any actor worth his salt a run for his money. But unfortunately, his class act in Guzaarish did not do anything for t film at the box-office.

Kareena Kapoor- Chameli

We see Kareena the fashionista almost every day, we have seen Kareena the superstar in the collections of films 3 Idiots, Bajraangi Bhaijaan and even Bodyguard, but it was in a small time film named Chameli where we saw the real power of the actress Kareena Kapoor. However, the collection of the film never amounted to even 1/100^th Bajraangi Bhaijaan were Kareena’s role, despite being a lead, had little more to offer than a cameo.