When ‘A Wednesday’ hit theaters in 2008, the film industry was abuzz with curiosity about its director. That director was Neeraj Pandey. His powerful storytelling and gripping narration won over both audiences and the harshest critics.
Neeraj Pandey followed up with hits like Special 26 and Baby, and his biopic on MS Dhoni was well-received. However, Aiyaary was a disappointment, and he shifted his focus to OTT platforms, creating successful shows like Special Ops and Free Lancer.
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After a significant break, Neeraj Pandey returned to the big screen with Ajay Devgn’s Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Despite low hype from the trailer and songs, there was hope due to Neeraj Pandey’s reputation. Unfortunately, the film was a disaster, a poor mix of Veer-Zaara and Drishyam.
The movie opened to terrible reviews from both audiences and critics. People were shocked at the low quality from a director of Neeraj Pandey’s caliber. Questions arose about why stars like Ajay Devgn and Tabu agreed to this project.
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One critic harshly commented, “Neeraj Pandey must have some secret video of Ajay and Tabu; there’s no other explanation for accepting to do this film. He aimed for a Veer-Zaara meets Drishyam but failed miserably. I’ll wait for another film with these leads to remember them fondly, but not this one.”
The film had a poor opening, earning just 1.70 crores on its first day, with minimal growth on Saturday. The total for the first two days was under 3.50 crores, and the weekend was expected to barely cross 5 crores.
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This is worse than the box office performance of Ajay Devgn’s films from 20 years ago, like Apaharan and Qayamat.
With Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, Neeraj Pandey joins the list of directors who have become outdated in the post-pandemic world. The pandemic era has been unforgiving, with audiences rejecting mediocrity outright. Only films with genuine entertainment value are succeeding at the box office.
Neeraj Pandey now finds himself among those once-great directors who have failed to adapt to changing times.
Other directors who have faced similar struggles include Rajkumar Hirani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rohit Shetty, Shankar, Trivikram, Ali Abbas Zafar, Koratala Siva, Sooraj Barjatya, and Parasuram.
These directors, once successful, are now grappling to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving industry.
