Fatigue of action: A rundown of big-scale movies of 2024

2024 has been a different year for big-scale action movies, as they haven’t had the same box office impact as in previous years. This decline can be attributed to “action fatigue,” but there are also several other factors contributing to the shift.

Unlike 2024, the year 2023 was mostly dominated by macho men taking on the bad guys and beating them to a pulp whether it was Jawan, Gadar 2 or Animal.

2024 has been a different year for big-scale action movies, as they haven’t had the same box office impact as in previous years. This decline can be attributed to “action fatigue,” but there are also several other factors contributing to the shift.

For example, in Devara, a simplistic story was dragged out, testing the viewer’s patience. The movie majorly rode on Junior NTR’s double role and to an extent on Saif Ali Khan’s villainous avatar.

Both actors were wonderful in their respective parts as was the technical department but Koratala Siva’s attempt to have his own Baahubali moment made it just about an average watch.

Suriya made his big screen comeback after a long gap with Kanguva, however, the movie turned out to be a disastrous experience relying purely on the big scale and Suriya to do wonders. Not surprisingly the movie turned out to be a box office turkey leaving a big dent in the producer’s pockets.

Now let’s get into a little more detail about some of the underperforming big-scale action movies.

Fighter

Hrithik Roshan in Fighter
Hrithik Roshan in ‘Fighter’. (X)

Siddharth Anand’s Fighter had all the ingredients of a mega-blockbuster, including big stars like Hrithik Roshan, Deepika and Anil Kapoor. It also had a charismatic Hrithik Roshan coupled with some fantastic Ariel stunts.

Following the success of his previous ventures, War (2019), and Pathaan, Siddharth Anand incorporated the typical elements of patriotism. However, the film suffered majorly from clichéd troupes involving India and Pakistan.

Lines about the real meaning of religion and patriotism had a jaded feel pulling down the movie significantly. Fighter is by no means a complete disaster, still, the film fell majorly short compared to Siddharth Anand’s last two action movies.

Jigra

A still from the film Jigra
A still from the film ‘Jigra’. (X)

Vasan Bala is known for his unique brand of storytelling. This time he tried his hand at the action genre with an emotional story of an elder sister’s fight.

The director is known for a certain sense of aesthetics. His movies have a Korean touch, something which Jigra also had in its depiction of the fictional country Hanshi Dao.

Jigra was an extremely well-made movie spearheaded by a brilliant Alia Bhatt, yet, the film underperformed as the mass belt didn’t take to the movie much due to its Korean aesthetics.

Singham Again

Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again had a galaxy of stars and a genre in which Rohit has succeeded. But something was majorly off with the movie starting from the long trailer revealing the major parallels with Ramayana along with the character introductions. The result was pretty much a disaster.

Too much time was wasted, introducing the Ramayana parallels and the action sequences were a tired rehash of Rohit Shetty’s previous movies.

The film clashed with Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 headlined by Kartik Aaryan, and the latter won at the box office.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

A still from the film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan
A still from the film ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’. (X)

Just like 2023, 2024 was also a disappointing year for Akshay Kumar. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was especially disappointing.

This Ali Abbas Zafar’s directorial had the pet themes of mainstream Hindi Cinema. A deadly enemy wanting to cause harm to the nation and two brave-hearted soldiers tackling the nemesis.

The genre of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is a cakewalk for Akshay, given his image as a Khiladi but the movie bombed badly in spite of Ali Abbas Zafar’s impressive commercial track record.

A major problem with Bade Miya Chote Miyan, apart from a tedious Akshay was its simplistic portrayal of complex political scenarios.

The solutions were oversimplified lacking the nuances needed. After a point, the movie just became a stretch of one action sequence after another.

Yodha

Sidharth Malhotra in Yodha
Sidharth Malhotra in ‘Yodha’. (X)

Since the success of the Vikram Batra biopic Shershaah (2021) on Amazon Prime, Sidharth Malhotra has been deliberately choosing characters of a patriotic nature. Still, the results have been far from satisfactory.

Yodha directed by Pushkar Ojha and Sagar Ambre despite being a slick action movie with a very watchable Sidharth Malhotra couldn’t do much at the box office.

A major reason for that was the underdeveloped love story between Sidharth and Rashi Khanna’s characters. The emotional drama of the story needed more heft. The movie also suffered from predictability and the typical elements of this genre.

Guntur Kaaram

Mahesh Babu in Guntur Kaaram
Mahesh Babu in ‘Guntur Kaaram’. (X)

Reputed filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas’s Guntur Kaaram was a mix of his usual family drama with the general template of action, romance and comedy.

The pet theme of Trivikram on how the greatest battles are fought with the people closest to you reached a saturation point with this one. Mahesh Babu was a lot of fun to watch with his comic timing and his Guntur dialect.

There was a refreshing carefree nature which the actor nailed. But the movie on the whole was a big bloated mess. Even the scenes of Mahesh Babu punching the baddies couldn’t save this festive movie.

The action scenes were the standard hero elevation shots, which had moments of Trivikram Srinivas’s trademark humour but that wasn’t enough to salvage the proceedings.

The Sankranthi release clashed with Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga, Venkatesh’s Saindhav, and Prashant Varma and Teja Sajja’s Hanu-man.

With the right mix of mythology and superhero elements, Hanu-man emerged as the clear winner among all the big Sankranti releases.

Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2

Kamal Haasan in Indian 2
Kamal Haasan in ‘Indian 2’. (X)

S Shankar’s vigilante action drama Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2 had none of the emotional complexities of the 1996 blockbuster Bharateeyudu/ Indian.

The movie was a typical Shankar lecture on how corruption should be uprooted. It had long drawn speeches testing the viewer’s patience.

Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2 showed that S Shankar’s cinematic language needs a major changeover. For most of the movie, Kamal Hassan is presented as an unbeatable superhero.

His interactions with the bad guys and how he easily beats them to a pulp were embarrassing, to say the least.

Saindhav

Venkatesh in Saindhav
Venkatesh in ‘Saindhav’. (X)

Venketash’s 75th movie Saindhav was a deliberate attempt from the actor to mix the elements of the family dramas he is known for with bone-crushing action. The film had shades of Lokesh Kangaraj’s Leo —a family man with a violent past.

Saindhav had all the elements of a solid action drama with Venketash delivering a commendable performance both in the action parts as well as the emotional sequences.

But the movie overall didn’t hit the mark because of too much dependence on the scale. The screenplay was extremely uneven. Also, it lacked a solid antagonist. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s eccentric villain was a pain to watch.

This is all about the underperformance of some big action movies. Clearly, certain exhaustion has set in the viewers’ minds regarding this genre.

This partly explains the tremendous success of the horror comedy/thriller genre as it is giving more exciting storylines.

(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)

The triumph of ‘Hanu-Man’ amidst star-studded Sankranthi films…

Storywise, ‘Hanu-Man’ doesn’t boast of much novelty. It is a classic tale of good versus evil with the superhero tropes of Hollywood.
Published in: Southfirst

Much like Teja Sajja’s character Hanumanthu in the film, Hanu-Man is also an underdog in more ways than one.

Neither Prasanth Varma is a blockbuster director nor the leading man Teja Sajja. The young actor was still finding his footing as a commercial hero when the fantasy flick was released.

Sure, he was a part of the hugely successful film Oh! Baby (2019), but that was primarily Samantha and Lakshmi’s vehicle.

In such a scenario, Hanu-Man was up against Mahesh Babu, Venkatesh, and Nagarjuna — three big stars of Tollywood.

Guntur Kaaram (2024) was the reunion of Mahesh Babu and Trivikram. Saindhav (2024), on the other hand, was the 75th film of Venkatesh.

Saindhav had a massive pre-release buzz, and Venkatesh sounded very confident in his interviews and functions. Additionally, director Sailesh Kolanu of the successful HIT franchise was helming it.

Lastly, Naa Saami Ranga (2024) was expected to rake in good numbers given the rural atmospherics. Furthermore, Nagarjuna’s last two Sankranthi releases were commercially successful.

The USP of Hanu-Man

A poster of Teja Sajja’s ‘Hanu-Man’. (X)

Hanu-Man not only held its own among all four Sankranthi releases but also emerged as the biggest winner.

Storywise, Hanu-Man doesn’t boast of much novelty. It is a classic tale of good versus evil with the superhero tropes of Hollywood.

The protagonist of this tale is a small-time thief in a fictional village called Anjanadri, a village located miles away from urbanisation.

The protagonist here is the last person whom you would associate with having superhero powers.

What made Hanu-Man click was how Prasanth Varma weaved the elements of mythology in a contemporary setting. The amalgamation of devotion with the superhero elements made a perfect mix.

The transformation of Teja Sajja’s character was also done well, and the young actor pulled off the different shades with finesse.

Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, as Hanumanthu’s elder sister, was another big strength of the film.

The brother-sister bond gave the movie an emotional gravitas. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar also had her masala moment, which was a treat to watch.

Though the film’s budget doesn’t come anywhere close to Adipurush (2023), the special effects are far superior. These factors made Hanu-Man a big hit among all age groups.

Underwhelming performances

A poster of Mahesh Babu’s ‘Guntur Kaaram’. (X)

The other three Sankranthi releases underperformed for different reasons.

In the case of Guntur Kaaram, Trivikram’s favourite theme of discord in families and an estranged son fixing things backfired badly. Mahesh Babu had fun with his role but for the audiences, it was a slog for the most part.

The tone of Venkatesh’s Saindhav is similar to Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Leo (2023), a family man with a violent past.

A poster of Venkatesh’s ‘Saindhav’. (X)

Venkatesh works as a crane operator in the port city of Chandraprastha. Before taking up this job he was a member of a drug cartel.

Things take a drastic turn when his daughter is diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). To survive, she needs urgent medical treatment that costs ₹17 crore.

Saindhav had all the elements needed for a solid action drama. Venkatesh, as the single father, also delivered a commendable performance and pulled off the action sequences with the required intensity.

But the film was not entirely satisfying for fans of the action genre. The big reason for that is the uneven screenplay coupled with the lack of attention-grabbing twists.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui played an eccentric antagonist with a mix of Hindi and Telugu dialogues. But the unhingedness of his character comes across as irritating.

Doesn’t hit the mark

A poster of Nagarjuna’s ‘Naa Saami Ranga’. (X)

Naa Saami Ranga, directed by Vijay Binni, is a decent entertainer, provided you are not looking for a lot.

The village atmospherics are good as are the performances, particularly of Allari Naresh.

But the sharp writing needed for a wholesome Sankranti film is missing. The portions of Nagarjuna with his love interest Varalakshmi (Ashika Ranganath) feel dated.

The friendship between Nagarjuna’s Kishtayya and Allari Naresh’s Anji needed to be etched better.

To conclude, Hanu-Man has once again proved why big stars are not always needed to draw the audience in huge numbers.

Sometimes, solid storytelling can transform an actor into a star!