Bollywood's history is full of films that audiences rejected in their first few days, with cinema owners and even the makers themselves writing them off as failures. Then, powered purely by word of mouth, these same films staged such dramatic turnarounds that box office records began to fall. Across a span of roughly 36 years, seven films, Guide, Sholay, Deewar, Hero, Masoom, Baazigar and Tum Bin, followed exactly this script. Slow, disappointing collections in the opening days initially got them branded flops, but they went on to become some of Hindi cinema's most memorable and profitable films.
Guide (1965): A newspaper appeal for rain that changed everything
Released on 2 April 1965, Dev Anand's Guide is the earliest example on this list. It was directed by Dev Anand's brother Vijay Anand, known as Goldie, who also wrote the screenplay. The story was adapted from R.K. Narayan's novel Guide, a book that had won the Sahitya Akademi Award, presented by Pandit Nehru himself. Dev Anand had read the novel while attending the Berlin Film Festival for his film Hum Dono. Goldie then spent 18 days at a hotel in Khandala, near Mumbai, writing the script and reworking large parts of the story. The film would go on to be counted among the greatest in the history of Indian cinema.
Ten days after release, everyone had already concluded the film had flopped. The country was in the grip of a harsh summer with no rain in sight, so Dev Anand ran newspaper advertisements reading Guide, Pray For Rain. As luck would have it, it rained, and audiences gradually began warming to the story. Guide was strikingly ahead of its time, portraying a married woman in a live-in relationship, an extremely unusual theme for that era. It was also Dev Anand's first colour film. The S.D. Burman composed song Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai, filmed at the Chittorgarh fort, remains a favourite even today. Made on a budget of just 85 lakh rupees, Guide earned a net collection of 1.75 crore rupees, ranked as the fifth highest grossing film of that year, and won 7 Filmfare Awards.
Deewar (1975): Declared a flop at its premiere, then ran for 100 weeks
Exactly ten years after Guide's release, 1975 saw the same pattern repeat itself, this time with two films that were initially written off but later found a place among Hindi cinema's 100 must watch movies. The first was Deewar, directed by Yash Chopra and produced by Gulshan Rai, with the story written by the duo Salim-Javed. Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Parveen Babi led the cast. Deewar is widely credited with giving Amitabh Bachchan his real stardom, and the long shirt he wore in the film went on to become a fashion trend of its own. At its premiere, Deewar was declared a flop, but once it opened to the public, it made history. The film ran in theatres for 100 consecutive weeks, earned 4.25 crore rupees, and finished as the fourth highest grossing film of 1975.
Sholay (1975): The Gabbar role that almost went to someone else
The second film from that year, Sholay, was directed by Ramesh Sippy, with the story again credited to Salim-Javed. It remains one of the most iconic films in Indian cinema. Interestingly, actor Danny had initially been finalised to play Gabbar, but he was busy shooting for Dharmatma at the time, so the role went to Amjad Khan instead, a part that gave him an identity that has lasted decades. When Sholay released on 15 August 1975, audience response in theatres stayed lukewarm through the first week, leading many to believe it would flop. But seven days in, the tide turned dramatically, and cinemas were flooded with audiences. Made on a budget of 3 crore rupees, the film went on to earn a worldwide collection of 50 crore rupees.
Hero (1983): The debut film that started in empty theatres
A similar story unfolded with Hero, directed by Subhash Ghai in 1983, which marked the Bollywood debuts of Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. In its first days, audiences simply did not show up at theatres. But as word of mouth publicity spread, crowds began building in cinema halls. The very film once considered a flop turned into a box office blockbuster, and Jackie Shroff became a star overnight. Made on a budget of 16 crore rupees, Hero earned a worldwide collection of more than 46 crore rupees.
Masoom (1983): Gulzar's screenplay and Guru Dutt's brother's first production
Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi's Masoom, directed by Shekhar Kapur, followed the same trajectory. Released on 21 October 1983, the film left a deep impact on both Hindi cinema and society. It was based on Erich Segal's 1980 novel Man, Woman and Child and was well ahead of its time. The screenplay was written by Gulzar, while Chandan Dutt and Devi Dutt served as producers. Chandan Dutt was the brother of Bollywood legend Guru Dutt, and Masoom marked the first film under their production banner. Composed by R.D. Burman, the film's most popular song was Tujhse Naraz Nahi Zindagi Hairaan Hoon. When it first released, audiences stayed away, but publicity built up gradually and the film went on to become a hit.
Baazigar (1993): The film distributors had already given up on
The story behind Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty's Baazigar is just as compelling. Directed by Abbas-Mastan, the film released in 1993 and had already been labelled a massive flop before it even hit theatres. Actor Dilip Tahil, who played the lead villain, later revealed that producers grew anxious during the shoot itself, as everyone kept saying that a film showing the hero murdering the heroine would never work. Distributors, too, were disheartened. But just as Guide, Deewar, Sholay, Hero and Masoom had proved their early doubters wrong, Baazigar followed the same path, winning over audiences and going on to be counted among the era's box office blockbusters.
