After Multiple Flops, Kriti Sanon Finally Strikes Gold At The Box Office With ‘TBMAUJ’
Kriti Sanon was last seen alongside Shahid Kapoor in ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’, which turned out to be a box office hit.
Bollywood, one of the world’s largest film industries, continues to captivate viewers with its unique blend of music, drama, and beautiful storytelling. From epic love stories, rib-tickling comedies, pulse-pounding action thrillers, family dramas, and socially relevant films, the Hindi cinema offers a diverse array of genres and has something in store for everyone. Packed with huge sets, infectious music, killer dance numbers, and unforgettable performances, Bollywood movies have the ability to evoke a myriad of emotions. While we have seen some of the biggest stars from film families, we have also witnessed the rise of several talented outsiders in B-town.
Every now and then, Bollywood welcomes several outsiders. While not all of them make it big in the industry, the ones who do inspire us every day to not give up on our dreams. These celebrities have navigated many obstacles to make their mark in the entertainment industry. From humble beginnings to gaining millions of fans, their journeys prove that dreams know no boundaries.
One such outsider who has made a name for herself in the Hindi film industry is Kriti Sanon. Born on July 27, 1990, in New Delhi, she is an engineering graduate from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida. Kriti Sanon began her career in the world of showbiz as a model before transitioning to acting.
She made her acting debut in the Telugu film ‘1: Nenokkadine’, co-starring Mahesh Babu, in 2014. However, she rose to fame with her Bollywood debut with Tiger Shroff in the 2014 Hindi film ‘Heropanti’. Her performance in the film earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
With her charming persona, impressive acting skills, and striking looks, Kriti Sanon garnered a considerable fan following within a relatively short span of time. After ‘Heropanti’, she appeared in notable roles in films like ‘Dilwale’, ‘Raabta’, ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’, and ‘Luka Chuppi’.
But like most stars in Bollywood, Kriti Sanon’s career also went through a lull. She featured in a string of flops before finally delivering a hit in the form of ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’, co-starring Shahid Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Dharmendra.
The Hindi movie, which made for the perfect Valentine’s Day watch as it released in cinemas on February 9, 2024, turned out to be a surprise box office hit.
The 2024 Hindi movie opened to mixed reviews from critics. But its fresh concept seemed to have worked in the favour of the film as it made more than Rs 80 crore in India and over Rs 140 crore worldwide. The movie revolved around the love story of Aryan, a robot scientist (Shahid Kapoor) and Sifra, a humanoid robot (Kriti Sanon).
In comparison, a much bigger and hyped film ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’, which released in March 2023 and starred Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, made almost similar money overseas so ‘TBMAUJ’ doing close to that with a much lesser budget and buzz is a big deal.
The one-of-a-kind rom-com’s performance at the box office remained solid in the first few days and it sustained well even in its fourth week despite competition from new Hindi movies like ‘Article 370’ and ‘Laapataa Ladies’ and American epic science fiction film ‘Dune: Part Two’.
‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’, directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah, was especially important for Kriti Sanon as it was her first hit after the 2019 hit movie ‘Housefull 4’. Kriti Sanon’s career went on a downward spiral at the box office as she delivered back-to-back flops.
These duds included ‘Panipat’, ‘Bachchhan Paandey’, ‘Shehzada’, ‘Adipurush’ and ‘Ganapath’. The 2022 Hindi movie ‘Bhediya’, starring Kriti Sanon and Varun Dhawan, was the only average grosser that the Bollywood actress delivered after 2019.
Talking about ‘Panipat’, the movie released in December 2019 and also starred Arjun Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. The historical period drama film, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, depicted the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 between the Maratha Empire and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The film, reportedly made on a budget of Rs 90 crore, showcased the epic conflict with meticulous attention to detail and grand battle sequences. While some praised the movie for its historical accuracy and performances, some criticised its lengthy runtime and pacing issues. Despite receiving decent reviews, the movie tanked at the box office as it made only Rs 33.87 crore in India and Rs 49 crore globally.
After the failure of ‘Panipat’, Kriti Sanon bounced back with the OTT release ‘Mimi’. The 2021 Hindi movie, which was supposed to release in theatres, later premiered on Netflix due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kriti Sanon’s performance in the Netflix film, co-starring Pankaj Tripathi, was widely praised. She also won her first National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in ‘Mimi’. She took home the accolade at 69th National Film Awards, which were held in October 2023.
Following ‘Mimi’, Kriti Sanon also appeared in the OTT release ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’, co-starring Rajkummar Rao, Paresh Rawal, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aparshakti Khurana, and more.
However, her first theatrical release ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ post cinemas re-opened after being shut down due to COVID-19, failed at the box office. Co-starring Akshay Kumar, Jacqueliene Fernandez, Arshad Warsi and more, ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ was directed by Farhad Samji and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It followed the story of a small-time film director who got caught up in the underworld while making a biopic on a gangster. The film, which blended action, comedy, and drama, made only Rs 51.04 crore in India and Rs 74.2 crore at the worldwide box office. The 2022 Hindi movie, a remake of the 2014 Tamil film ‘Jigarthanda’, was reportedly made on a budget of Rs 160 crore.
After the failure of ‘Bachchhan Paandey’, Kriti Sanon appeared in the 2022 Hindi movie ‘Bhediya’, co-starring Varun Dhawan. While ‘Bhediya’ cannot be categorised as a flop film, it did not live up to the hype surrounding the movie’s release. The movie, which hit theatres in November 2022, made Rs 68.99 crore in India and minted Rs 94.91 crore worldwide. The horror-comedy film, reportedly made on a budget of Rs 60 crore, was directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan, known for movies like ‘Stree’ and ‘Roohi’. The 2022 Hindi movie followed a man (Varun Dhawn) who discovers that he can transform into a werewolf. Kriti Sanon played a doctor and Varun Dhawan’s love interest in the film, co-starring Abhishek Banerjee and Deepak Dobriyal. With elements of horror, comedy, and romance, ‘Bhediya’ created a lot of buzz owing to its songs, trailer and promotions. However, the film could not make waves at the box office.
Following an underwhelming 2022, Kriti Sanon appeared in three movies in 2023 – ‘Shehzada’, ‘Adipurush’ and ‘Ganapath’. However, all the three Hindi movies failed miserably at the box office.
Kriti Sanon’s first release of 2023 ‘Shehzada’ also starred Kartik Aaryan in the lead role. Despite being widely promoted by Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon, the 2023 Hindi movie turned out to be a critical and commercial failure. The movie, which released in theatres on February 17, 2023, collected only Rs 32.02 crore at the domestic box office. It made Rs 47.80 crore globally. As per reports, ‘Shehzada’ was made on a budget of Rs 85 crore. ‘Shehzada’, the Hindi remake of Allu Arjun’s ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramaloo’, was directed by Rohit Dhawan. Co-starring Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Ronit Roy and Sachin Khedekar, ‘Shehzada’ also marked the debut production venture of Kartik Aaryan.
Kriti Sanon then appeared in Om Raut’s directorial venture ‘Adipurush’. And who doesn’t remember the colossal failure of the film! The movie, which released in theatres on June 16, 2023, also starred Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Singh and Devdatta Nage. The film, reportedly mounted on a whopping budget of Rs 500-600 crore, was expected to be a massive blockbuster. Despite high expectations and anticipation, the Indian epic film failed to live up to the hype surrounding it. Critics and audiences alike pointed out various shortcomings, including weak storytelling, dialogues and unconvincing special effects.
Many also felt that the film’s ambitious scale did not translate effectively onto the screen, resulting in a disjointed viewing experience. After facing criticism, some of the dialogues were altered. However, that didn’t help the film either. The mythological action film, an adaptation of the Indian epic ‘Ramayana’, somehow managed to collect Rs Rs 287.97 crore at ticket counters in India and Rs 392.70 crore at the global box office.
Kriti Sanon’s third release of 2023, ‘Ganapath’, also turned out to be a box office dud. The action-packed movie co-starred Tiger Shroff in the lead role. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan also featured in the film and played a crucial role in it. Despite being released around the Dussehra holiday, ‘Ganapath’ failed to pull people to theatres. The 2023 Hindi movie, said to be made on a budget of Rs 200 crore, collected only Rs 13 crore nett in India and Rs 18 crore globally. ‘Ganapath’, written and directed by Vikas Bahl of ‘Queen’ fame, is set in the 2070 in a dystopian world where people are living on the streets and are struggling against the regime in-charge.
The 2024 Hindi movie ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya’ gave a much-needed boost to Kriti Sanon’s career as she was struggling at the box office with back-to-back flops.
After starting the new year with a bang, 2024 could very much be Kriti Sanon’s year as she has one more big release lined up – ‘Crew’. Co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu, and Diljit Dosanjh, ‘Crew’ will be released in cinemas on March 29. The upcoming heist comedy will also feature comedian-actor Kapil Sharma in a special appearance. Directed by Rajesh Krishnan, the upcoming Hindi movie is set against the backdrop of the airline industry. As per reports, the upcoming Hindi movie has been shot in Mumbai and Abu Dhabi. The film is co-produced by Ektaa Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor, who are reuniting after the 2018 hit Bollywood movie ‘Veere Di Wedding’. It has been penned by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, who have earlier worked on ‘Veere Di Wedding’.
Kriti Sanon will also be seen in ‘Do Patti’, in which she is starring alongside Kajol and TV heartthrob Shaheer Sheikh.
Helmed by Shashanka Chaturvedi, ‘Do Patti’ is produced by Kanika Dhillon’s Kathha Pictures and Kriti Sanon’s Blue Butterfly Films, which she launched in July 2023. It is written by Kanika Dhillon and will be streamed on the OTT platform Netflix.
Kriti Sanon also has ‘Housefull 5’ and ‘Bhediya 2’ in the pipeline. Apart from her production banner Blue Butterfly Films, Kriti Sanon also owns a skincare brand called ‘Hyphen’, which she launched on July 27, 2023, coinciding with her birthday.
