4 reasons why Kartik Aaryan Shehzada failed at the box office

February 19, 2023

Shehzada could have been Kartik Aaryan follow-up blockbuster after Bhool Bhulaiya 2. That was not to be. And it isn’t because remakes are not in favor any longer among Hindi-speaking audiences. If that were the case, how do we explain the super-success of Drishyam 2?

No, the fault lies not in the stars but in the marketing strategy. Firstly, the sudden decision to postpone the release by a week weighed heavily on Shehzada’s box office prospects. Suddenly, Shehzada was doing a face-off with an international franchise. Ant-Man…cheetee ne haathi ko hara diya.

Secondly, some wise guys from the marketing team of Shehzada decided to give a free ticket to everyone who purchased a ticket. This buy-one-get-free strategy never works. It makes the consumer suspicious. Zaroor kuch gadbad hai (Something smells fishy)…

Third, most media shows have been rescheduled for Friday. Never, ever do that. It demonstrates a lack of confidence in your product unless you are Yash Raj or Disney+Hotstar, who do not show their films to reviewers before release day per policy.

The fourth and most damaging factor working against Shehzada was the presence of director Rohit Dhawan doing what his father David Dhawan had been doing for years.

David Dhawan’s Judwaa was Salman Khan’s big baby-swapping hit. It was now Kartik Aaryan’s turn to hit the Bhai notes. In case you missed the Junior’s Sal(lu)te, Kartik is sportingly performing Salman’s song Character Dheela from Ready.

Salman references appear more frequently in Shehzada than Allu Arjun references. Shehzada, as every man, woman, and child is aware, is a remake of Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, which was released just before the COVID pandemic.

Kartik Aaryan gets to be a one-man show throughout the enjoyable circus of absurdity. He sings, dances, clowns around, and taunts his father Valamiki (Paresh Rawal).

A favorable sequence is at the end of the film, just before the character gets dheela when Kartik buys a brand new scooter for his duplicitous dad (who is no longer his dad, long story). They both ride off together into the night. Hopefully in search of a more thoughtful remake for the next time.