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Sushant Singh Rajput's death triggered a huge debate on nepotism. Netizens targetted almost all the star kids including Alia Bhatt, Sara Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Ananya Panday, and more. The SSR fans even vowed to boycott movies of these star kids.
On the other hand, they ensured that SSR's last movie Dil Bechara becomes a big hit. The trailer of Dil Bechara also starring Sanjana Sanghi became the most liked trailer on YouTube.
https://twitter.com/rohitjswl01/status/1280420140501229569
But when it came to the release of Sadak 2, Khaali Peeli or Laxmii, the movies failed to make an impact. Was it just because Sushant Singh Rajput fans decided to boycott it?
Sadak 2 Was a Very Bad Movie With a Very Sloppy Storyline, Shabby Scenes, and Inconsistent Plot
Undoubtedly Sadak 2's trailer became the most disliked one because SSR fans ran an aggressive campaign against both Alia Bhatt and her father Mahesh Bhatt. Alia being the star kid was already a target.
Even before that association of Mahesh Bhatt with Rhea Chakraborty, the prime accused in Sushant Singh Rajput's case also had many boycotting this sequel to the original movie of Pooja Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt.
https://twitter.com/_RKSumit/status/1296144032591093760
However, when Sadak 2 starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, and Pooja Bhatt finally released on Disney Plus Hotstar in August last week, it was even slammed by the critics. The movie received very low-1.1 ratings on IMDb.
https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1296838045837037569
Leading film critics reviewed it as one of the most inconsistent flicks with a sloppy plot and shabby sequences. The only thing that was good enough was the natural swag of charming Sanjay Dutt. But it certainly was not enough to make Sadak 2 watchable which is why this comeback flick of Mahesh Bhatt failed badly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iot0eF6EoNA
Khaali Peeli and Laxmii Were a Big Disappointment
Taking a cue from what happened with Sadak 2 when the makers released the trailer of Khaali Peeli staring Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khattar, they turned off the like/dislike button.
https://twitter.com/Celestial_Maymr/status/1298149479434997760
Akshay Kumar did the same when the trailer of his movie Laxmii with Kiara Advani was released. However, all the promotions on social media and television could not help these movies from failing badly in the eyes of the audience.
https://twitter.com/SumitkadeI/status/1308675593559371776
Khaali Peeli released on Gandhi Jayanti this year received a bit better IMDb reviews-2.4 as compared to Alia's Sadak sequel . Immediately within a day of its release, it became one of the most badly reviewed movies of all time. Critics slammed this Maqbool Khan-directed flick as a soggy affair with a lackluster presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB_nEHhqq3U
Coming to Laxmii, it ran into controversy for its name Laxmmi Bomb days ahead of its release. The makers were forced to change the name to Laxmii after outrage on social media.
https://twitter.com/sonalkalra/status/1321763656405708800
https://twitter.com/JyotiKarma7/status/1321797666917896192
It was a remake of a South Indian superhit movie Kanchana 2 helmed by Raghava Lawrence who directed the original film. Co-produced by Akshay Kumar himself who played the lead role of transgender ghost Laxmii, the teaser looked quite impressive.
https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1325787712729702406
Despite the fact that Sushant Singh Rajput fans were keen on boycotting this movie as well, Akki and Kiara Advani's Burj Khalifa song received a good response.
https://twitter.com/itsRajputLK/status/1335400006539501569
But when the movie released on 9 November during Diwali this year, it failed to make an impact. With 2.3 IMDb ratings, Laxmii that dealt with the vengeance of a ghost was criticized as a soulless flick which even the dynamism of Akshay Kumar could not save.
In nutshell, even though Sushant Singh Rajput fans who were dead against star kids opposed these movies, the films failed because of bad content. Importantly, many believe that the pride of these stars was salvaged because these flicks came on OTT space. Instead, if they would have released in theaters, it could have been a big disaster for the producers and distributors.
