After a not-too-great 2017, Bollywood has had a good run in the first quarter of this year with at least one blockbuster and a few surprise successes. The Woods looks at the hits and misses from January to March 2018.

Padmaavat

Starring: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Budget: Rs 160 cr

Verdict: Blockbuster

The controversy surrounding the film ensured audiences thronged to the cinemas, even if just to satisfy their curiosity. The grand sets, spectacular battle scenes and the acting of Ranveer and Deepika kept the footfall high

1921 

Starring: Karan Kundra, Zareen Khan

Director: Vikam Bhatt

Budget: Rs 15 cr

Verdict: Flop

Audiences could not make up their mind if it was a comedy or a horror film 

Mukkabaaz

Starring: Vineet Singh, Jimmy Shergill, Zoya Hussain

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Budget: Rs 12 cr

Verdict: Average

Earned praise from critics, but the subject — a dark, cross-caste, boxing drama — may not have had universal appeal

Kaalakandi

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Shobhita Dhulipala, Deepak Dobriyal

Director: Akshat Verma

Budget: Rs 15 cr

Verdict: Flop

The Delhi Belly writer’s directorial debut was funny in parts, lacklustre in the main. Saif’s histrionics weren’t enough for the it-happened-one-night film with three stories which sadly lacked a narrative

Baaghi 2

Starring: Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani

Director: Ahmed Khan

Budget: Rs 55 cr

Verdict: Super hit

A full-of-holes screenplay, loose direction, and at least 20 minutes too long. For all its flaws, Baaghi 2, with Tiger as the desi Rambo, makes up with its action, much of it implausible even if you are used to the Stallone and Schwarzenegger one-man-army type of movies 

PadMan

Starring:Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte

Director: R. Balki

Budget: Rs 80 cr

Verdict: Average

Yet another Akshay film with a social message — this time on female hygiene. Based on the life of activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who worked towards providing cost effective and hygienic sanitary napkins to women in the rural areas, PadMan, however, faltered in execution and appeared stretched

Aiyaary 

Starring:Manoj Bajpayee, Sidharth Malhotra, Pooja Chopra

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Budget: Rs 50 cr

Verdict: Flop

Pandey, the director of films like A Wednesday, Special 26 and Baby, comes up with another thriller, this time centred around military intelligence. But unlike his past ventures, Aiyaary is slow paced, way too long and, in spite of the interesting plot premise, failed to keep audiences hooked

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety  

Starring: Kartik Aryan, Sunny Singh and  Nushrat Bharucha

Director: Luv Ranjan

Budget: Rs 23 cr

Verdict: Super hit

The surprise, sleeper hit of the year. With smart one-liners and repartees, this small-budget bromance-versus-romance tale pulled in the audiences and the moolah, earning over Rs 107 crore at the box office. 

Pari 

Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee

Director: Prosit Roy

Budget: Rs 21 cr

Verdict: Average

Anushka shines in this horror film, which she co-produced, about a mysterious woman being hunted down by a group of cruel men. There are some genuine scary moments but the narrative comes apart when director Roy attempts to explain the horror

Welcome to New York 

Starring: Diljit Dosanjh, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar

Director: Chakri Toleti

Budget: Rs 35 cr

Verdict: Flop

Supposed to be a spoof on the Hindi film industry, this comedy runs out of steam, and humour, almost as soon as it begins. It’s a yawn-fest for much of the remaining screen time

Hate Story 4  

Starring: Urvashi Rautela, Vivan Bhatena and Karan Wahi

Director: Vishal Pandya

Budget: Rs 17 cr

Verdict: Average

All hate, no story and some cheap titillation. That’s what sums up this latest instalment of the Hate Story franchise 

Dil Junglee  

Starring:Taapsee Pannu, Saqib Salem

Director: Aleya Sen

Budget: Rs 9 cr

Verdict: Flop

A clichéd love story, replete with done-to-death themes. Even strong performances by the lead pair couldn't save this one from tanking

Raid  

Starring:Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’cruz

Director: Raj Kumar Gupta

Budget: Rs 72 cr

Verdict: Hit

Ajay Devgn comes up with a winner in this engrossing tale of income-tax search and seizure operations. The subject — an honest officer’s crusade against black money and corruption — resonated with the audience

Hichki

Starring: Rani Mukerji and Neeraj Kabi

Director: Siddharth P. Malhotra

Budget: Rs 20 cr

Verdict: Hit

Rani’s comeback film of how a teacher with Tourette Syndrome overcomes challenges appealed to the masses. The film has already collected around Rs 42 crore at the box office

Budget denotes the approximate production cost of the film