Explained: The four reasons why Kartik Aaryan's Shehzada has ended in failure at the box office
Shehzada might have been Kartik Aaryan's follow-up blockbuster to Bhool Bhulaiya 2. It was not to be. And it's not in favour any longer among Hindi-speaking viewers.
No, the fault is not with the stars, but with the marketing plan. Shehzada's box office prospects got hampered by the sudden decision to postpone the release by a week. Shehzada was suddenly faced against an international franchise.
Second, some smart members of Shehzada's marketing team decided to offer a free ticket to everyone who purchased one. This buy-one-get-one-free method is never effective. That makes the customer cautious.
Third, most media shows have been postponed to Friday. Never, ever do it. That shows a lack of trust in your own product, unless you are Yash Raj or Disney+Hotstar, which do not show their films to reviewers prior to release day per policy.
The fourth and most damaging reason working against Shehzada was the appearance of filmmaker Rohit Dhawan doing what his father David Dhawan had been doing for years.
David Dhawan's Judwaa was Salman Khan's big baby-swapping success. Kartik Aaryan's turn to strike the Bhai notes finally arrived. In case you've missed the Junior's Sal(lu)te, Kartik is sportingly performing Salman's song Character Dheela from Ready.
Salman references are more common in Shehzada than Allu Arjun references. Shehzada, as every man, woman, and kid is aware, is a remake of Allu Arjun's Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, which was released right before the COVID pandemic.
Kartik Aaryan gets to be a one-man show all through the entertaining carnival of absurdity. He sings, dances, jokes about, and taunts his father Valamiki (Paresh Rawal).
Kartik buys a brand new scootie for his deceitful father at the climax of the film, shortly before the character gets dheela (who is no longer his dad, long story). They both ride off into the night together. For the next time, hopefully in search of a more deliberate remake.