Baaghi-3: Even Covid couldn't dent its success at the BO

Tiger Shroff, the Gen Z heartthrob for his beefy frame and lithe dance movements has had the southern film industry providing him readymade plotlines to ensure his stay as an A-lister in the Hindi film industry. His maiden film ' Heropanti' (2014) was a remake of Allu Arjun's 'Parugu' (2008) and received an overwhelming response at the box-office.

Last year, his film ' Baaghi-3', a successful franchise (since the first film released in 2016) which has been received well for its action and hot romance scenes was yet another venture which based itself on a southern original. ' Vettai' (2012), the original had Madhavan and Aarya playing brothers who are affectionate with each other and would do anything to keep the sibling bond going. The plot had a lot of stunts and romance which appealed to the audience for its light-hearted and fast paced narrative.

Ahmed Khan, who had helmed the earlier version of ' Baaghi' in 2018 was retained for the third part and the film saw Tiger Shroff and Ritiesh Deshmukh playing the brothers. Nativising it to suit the Hindi audience which loves its masala a tad lesser, the director built his story on the muscular, arresting frame of Tiger Shroff with Shraddha Kapoor playing his love interest.

Released on March 6,2020 a couple of weeks before India went into a prolonged lockdown, the film managed to enthuse the target audience and collected revenue briskly. Yet, the shutting down of theatres and multiplexes dented its sustained appeal largely. Not surprisingly, the reviews it received across the online and offline media was mixed. One leading reviewer dismissed it as a 'bloated mess' while others found fault with the CG work and the directorial abilities of Ahmed Khan.

As theatres reopened subsequently, the producers toyed with a repeat release of the film but wisely let it be played over OTT platforms where it was viewed across the world many times over. It still has the record of being the second highest grosser of Bollywood in 2020. It also added to the enduring appeal of Tiger Shroff who had by then moved a few inches upwards in the top heroes list of Hindi cinema.