Bengali films which became Box Office hits despite negative reviews

We all have heard ‘content is king’ and a film has to come up with a well-executed script to master the box-office clash. But, it can’t follow the same path every time. Often films with hard-hitting content fail to win the audience while others become hit despite poor reviews from critics. Sometimes, the mass promotion, gimmick, ensemble cast and music work in favour of a movie and it eventually manages to rake moolah at the box-office. Be it this year's ‘Sultan: The Saviour’ or last year's ‘Yeti Obhijaan’, these few examples that fit the description. Here is a list of Bengali films which became hit despite bad reviews.

‘Amazon Obhijan’ became the highest grossing Bengali film ever as it dethroned Dev’s earlier Box Office hit ‘Chander Pahar’. This sequel to ‘Chander Pahar’ still stands top of the mountain by smashing records in the Bengali film industry. According to several industry sources, the adventure flick managed to mint over Rs.48 crore all around the world after its release in December 2017. But the million dollar question is how could this film rake such huge number at the box office? It’s mercilessly slaughtered by some shoddy writing and equally cringe-worthy execution of the script. Be it the unnecessary characters, so many unnecessary subplots or the lack of both depth – Kamaleshwar Mukherjee’s film is an absolute blunder. The film is a farce, as aptly proved by the laughter in theatres every single time a character threw a dialogue.

Raja Chanda’s ‘Sultan: The Saviour’, a remake of Tamil hit ‘Vedalam’ (2015), typically celebrates Jeet as a dashing hero and his captivating screen presence. The action flick despite receiving below average ratings from critics managed to rake good numbers the box office. It’s an out and out entertainer bereft of logic a few times but with justification. It’s a hero-worshipping film, so ‘Sultan: The Saviour’s storyline is often predictable, giving us constant hints on the hero’s presence at the moments of crisis. However, there are twists in the execution also that may seem over-the-top. But they gel well with the actual intention of this film. Bangladeshi actress Bidya Sinha Mim starred opposite Jeet and Priyanka Sarkar played Jeet’s sister.

This is a 2017 India-Bangladesh joint venture, a sequel to the 2013 Box Office hit 'Boss'. Directed by Baba Yadav, the Jeet starrer action flick opened at a relatively slow pace but then managed to strike heavy figures at the Box Office and enjoyed a double-digit figure of approximately Rs 10.50 crore. However, this film too received poor reviews from critics. The story revolves around Surya, who stood by his people to make their dreams come true, becomes their biggest enemy. People want him arrested as they suspect the man had run away with Rs 35,000 Crores. The film, filled with excitement, thrill, emotions and plenty of action, became a huge hit in Bengali cinema.

In ‘Yeti Obhijaan’, Kakababu (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Shontu (Aryann Bhowmik) visit the Gorokhshep plateau of Nepal, investigating the sightings of a mythical beast Yeti. While the story comes with so much cinematic potential, it’s the treatment and execution that falter at ground level. The cinematography of snow-covered peaks, clear blue skies are extremely commendable. But director Srijit Mukherji’s love for his visuals is so intense that it often hampers the storyline. Reviews received by the film were not impressive, yet the film became a box office hit. Perhaps the audience wanted to relive those nostalgic days of lapping up Kakababu stories from the pages of Anandamela Puja edition.

‘Zulfiqar’ revolves around a group of gun-wielding and brooding gangsters with a thirst for blood. Srijit Mukherji’s inspiration for this 2016 crime thriller came from not just one, but two tragedies- 'Julius Caeser' and 'Antonio and Cleopatra'. The magnum opus came with an ensemble cast including Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Parambrata Chatterjee, Dev, Ankush, Rahul, Nusrat Jahan in pivotal roles. The film could have delivered a good story of brotherhood, hatred, love, friendship, betrayal and rise and fall of a Syndicate but surprisingly the introduction of love songs, the melodrama spoil most of the film. It’s like watching a typical Bengali crime drama inspired by a random Hindi or south film rather than a Shakespeare adaptation. Still, with a glittering star cast Zulfiqar managed to save itself from becoming a complete disaster at the box office.

Agnidev Chatterjee's ‘Dark Chocolate’ is the first movie inspired by the most-talked about Sheena Bora murder case. The story had plenty of cinematic potential but sadly Agnidev’s film is hardly an eye-opener. There’s nothing in it that you don't know already. However, despite all those flaws the 2016 film enjoyed a decent box office outing. Maybe people thought the sensitive big screen adaptation will make them rethink about the case or perhaps word of mouth publicity and the depth of the murder case encouraged viewers to see the film. But in reality it’s the opposite. It looked like the makers just gathered all the information from news channels and media reports and turned it into a film.