Aamir Khan Suffers His First Major Flop Thugs of Hindostan 18 Years After Mela - Listing His Top 10 Flops

Over the years, Aamir Khan has been known as a superstar whose films invariably do bumper business at the Box Office. It is for a reason that he has been hailed as the Father of 100 Crore Club [Ghajini], 200 Crore Club [3 Idiots] and 300 Crore Club [PK]. In fact it was only at the start of the current millennium when he had an outright flop [Mela (2000)] and it is only 18 years later that he is now facing his second outright flop in the form of Thugs of Hindostan [2018]. Meanwhile, a couple of his films have underperformed in these 18 years.

Here is presenting Aamir Khan's Top-10 disappointments ever since he began his career exactly three decade back as a commercial leading man with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak [1988].

(All collections are as per box office numbers back then and have not been adjusted for inflation)

Thugs of Hindostan - 150 crore (expected lifetime collections)

This one was widely touted as a film that would open the 400 Crore Club in Bollywood. After all, everything was falling in place just fine - the canvas, the grandeur, the production values, the supporting cast (Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif), the Diwali release, the biggest screen count (5000+). Still, where the film failed was content. Result? All-around audience rejection.

Mangal Pandey - The Rising - 30 crore

Before Thugs of Hindostan, Aamir Khan had faced a similar situation where a film of his took an all time biggest start and then crashed soon after. That happened with Mangal Pandey - The Rising, another historical, where again Aamir took on the British (just like Thugs of Hindostan). The film couldn't cover the distance and turned out to be a major disappointment commercially.

Mela - 15 crore

An outright flop, Mela was the first release of the new millennium as it hit the screens on 7th January 2000. It came after Aamir Khan and director Dharmesh Darshan had delivered an All Time Blockbuster in Raja Hindustani. However, audiences were just not excited about this potpourri affair featuring Twinkle Khanna who had a mix of action, romance, drama and humor.

Dhobhi Ghat - 14 crore

An art-house affair where Aamir Khan featured in one of the three stories integrated by wife Kiran Rao, Dhobhi Ghat was never touted to be a Blockbuster. However with Aamir Khan in there, expectations were that of a decent entertainer at least. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a slow and boring piece of cinema that managed to excite just a handful of critics; that's it.

Akele Hum Akele Tum - 7 crore

Inspired by Hollywood drama Kramer v/s Kramer, this marital drama with a child in the midst of affairs was directed by Aamir Khan's Mansoor Khan who had delivered Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar with him. The film's music was soulful too and Aamir Khan as well as Manisha Koirala came up with a good act. However, audiences were left bored.

Baazi - 5 crore

An action masala affair by director Ashutosh Gowariker (who later came up with a classic Lagaan), Baazi didn't make much of a noise around its release. The film was a decent entertainer but audiences weren't suitably excited to check it out on its arrival. Over the years it has still managed to find some eyeballs for itself but back then it had been ignored.

Andaaz Apna Apna - 5 crore

A classic which unfortunately couldn't find much of an audience on its release, Andaaz Apna Apna stays on to be one of the biggest mysteries of the Bollywood Box Office. With a dream cast comprising of Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon, it saw a delayed and haphazard release. However today it enjoys a cult status all across the board.

1947: Earth - 4 crore

A semi art-house cinema by director Deepa Mehta, 1947: Earth was not the film for the Box Office. Audiences sensed that as well and decided to stay away. It released at the time when Aamir Khan had delivered three back to back successes in Raja Hindustani, Ishq and Ghulam. Still, there was no excitement whatsoever about this period film that has been well forgotten.

Aatank Hi Aatank - 2.50 crore

A loose remake of Hollywood classic Godfather, Aatank Hi Aatank also boasts of the coming together of Aamir Khan and Rajinikant. However, the film had a shoddy narrative and uneven storytelling. Characters were half baked too and even Aamir Khan seemed uninspired. The film was patched together haphazardly and saw a token release. Result? A forgotten affair.

Parampara - 1.50 crore

Call it ironic but the top and the bottom film in this list of Aamir Khan disappointments are both a Yash Raj affair. Parampara was written by Aditya Chopra (before he shot to fame with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) and directed by Yash Chopra. A multi-starrer, it featured Aamir Khan with Saif Ali Khan and veteran Sunil Dutt. The film failed commercially big time though.