‘Baaghi 3’ another success for Sajid Nadiadwala, Tiger Shroff and Ahmed Khan; stage set for ‘Baaghi 4’

'Baaghi 3' film poster (Image: Twitter/@iTIGERSHROFF)

When Baaghi was devised by producer Sajid Nadiadwala for (then) rising star Tiger Shroff after Heropanti with Sabbir Khan returning as the director, it was meant to be a standalone film that would be a complete 'masala' entertainer.

With action, romance, music and drama coming together in good proportions, the film went on to be a very good success at the box office.

With a double digit opening (Rs 11.9 crore), it went on to score quite well as the lifetime closed at Rs 77 crore. The film was a superhit.

This is when Nadiadwala had a brainwave to actually turn this standalone film into a franchise no less. This meant that stories were woven around Shroff who played an action hero in Baaghi 2 and Baaghi 3. Ahmed Khan was brought into the fold as the director for both these films and the results were there to be seen.

Baaghi 2 surprised one and all with a bumper opening of Rs 25.1 crore. It shocked not just the industry, but also the makers, as an opening like this for a relative newcomer was unprecedented. However, Shroff announced his arrival loud and clear and as a result, the film went on to be a major blockbuster at the box office with a lifetime of Rs 166 crore. In fact, this was not too far away from Salman Khan's Race 3 (Rs 169 crore) which released only a few months later.

Buoyed by the response that Baaghi 2 received, Nadiadwala ensured that Baaghi 3 turned out to be the biggest of the franchise with its action going up manifold. He invested quite some moolah into the making of Baaghi 3 and took it beyond international borders. With the one line concept of 'one man against an entire nation', the message was clear that something really big was being envisioned.

Director Ahmed Khan did live up to that vision and Shroff too made sure that he gave his sweat, blood and tears into the film by giving his everything to the film. A physically draining experience for all involved, Baaghi 3 indeed turned out to be biggest of them when it came to scale, size and grandeur.

This is one film that could well have surpassed Baaghi 2 lifetime itself but then as is the saying, man proposes and God disposes. Corona virus outbreak arrives out of nowhere and Baaghi 3 turned out to be the first film to face the heat. First, its opening day was effected as lesser than expected numbers of Rs 17.5 crore came in. Despite that, the film put up a big fight, especially on its first Sunday and post that on the festive occasion of Holi.

As a result, the film did manage to go past the Rs 90-crore mark in the first week itself. It will enter the Rs 100 crore-club but when compared to the bare minimum expectation of Rs 150 crore, the film will fall well short, which is unfortunate to say the least. Yes, several critics came down heavily on the film as well and even though that did have an impact on the footfalls, it was not a fraction of the hit that it got due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Nonetheless, the film has still turned out to be a hit and though it will not be a superhit or a blockbuster, as it was expected out of it, it is still a winner. In the current times when majority of the theatres are shutting down and cities are getting locked as a prevention against the spread of COVID-19, Baaghi 3 is also going to be the last movie to have recorded good business in time to come as well.

It is now a given that just like Housefull franchise that Nadiadwala has built till the fourth instalment now, there is Baaghi 4 on the anvil as well. While Akshay Kumar is the face of Housefull franchise, Shroff is set to be the original Baaghi for many more years to come.

(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic. Views are personal)