First Befikre, now Meri Pyaari Bindu… India’s most illustrious film producers Yash Raj Films seem to have lost their sheen. And to think that Aditya Chopra, the scion of the exceptional banner was till recently Bollywood’s most adventurous talent provider! Sadly, that spark seems to have gone out of the Yash Raj Films. The last really outstanding film produced by Adi Chopra was debutant director Sharat Katariya’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Thereafter came the big-budgeted detective dud Byomkesh Bakshi, which nearly wiped out director Dibakar Bannerjee’s career.
Followed Fan in 2016, featuring ‘King’ Khan Shah Rukh who has given the maximum number of hits for the Yash Raj banner with its helmer Yash Chopra and then his son Aditya Chopra. Fan, directed by Maneesh Sharma (who gave the Yash Raj banner that sleeper hit Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010) was another major disappointment from Yash Raj and one of the lowest earners in Shah Rukh Khan’s career.
Last year Aditya Chopra returned to direction for the first time since Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, with Befikre, a smutty, raunchy, horny Parisian lust-tale featuring Aditya Chopra’s prized discovery Ranveer Singh with Vani Kapoor.
Befikre was as embarrassing a makeover for Aditya as Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon for Sooraj Barjatya.
A lot was hanging on Yash Raj’s new Meri Pyari Bindu. The banner’s debutant directors Maneesh Sharma, Sharat Katariya, Ali Abbas Zafar, Kabir Khan — have always gone on to create history in and outside the Yash Raj window.
However, Akshay Roy, who makes his debut with Meri Pyari Bindu, would be remembered in the illustrious history of Yash Raj films for having delivered the slowest earner for the banner. The film opened at approximately Rs 1.75 crore on Friday. This is the lowest ever opening for Yash Raj film.
You can blame it on Baahubali. But there is more to this fall from grace that Yash Raj has witnessed. Where have all the talented actors and directors gone? It seems Yash Raj now has only Salman Khan to salvage its reputation from further doom. Last year, he rescued the banner from going into the dread zone with Sultan. Now this year, he will likely return Yash Raj to form with Tiger Zinda Hai. Apart from Salman, Yash Raj only has a Dhoom spoof called Bank Chor coming up for release. And that, even the staunchest supporters of the banner would agree, is quite a climb down for the once-thriving banner.
