So here’s our list of films that surprised not just the makers but us too, when they tanked at the box office…

The Film:

A gangster flick directed by Chakri Toleti starred Thala Ajith, Paravathy Omanakuttan, Bruna Abdullah, Vidyut Jamwal, and Sudhanshu Pandey in the lead roles.

It was a prequel to the much successful Billa that released in 2007.

Pre-release:

The film was one of the much anticipated movies of the season owing to the success of Billa. The makers also managed to keep the expectation levels soaring with timely promotions that included posters, stills, teasers and a calendar featuring the leading ladies, Bruna Abdullah and Parvathy Omanakuttan.

With the teaser gaining record views within just three days of its release and the music album by Yuvan Shankar Raja topping the charts, makers were certain of the movie’s success.

Post-release:

The movie was released across 2500 screens worldwide. It received good response on the first day, but any hopes of a blockbuster run were marred by bad word-of-the-mouth and unfavourable reviews from critics.

Leading lady Parvathy Omanakuttan said that the film failed because the censor board had cut out several important scenes which affected the film’s quality. Director Chakri Toleti apologised to the public for not living up to the expectations.

While Ajith chose to stay silent about the film’s failure and simply said that he had done his part well.

The film was further banned from being played on small screen because of the censor board’s decision to ban ‘A’ rated films from TV telecast.

The Film:

An action thriller directed by K V Anand starred Suriya in a double role, Kajal Agarwal as his love interest, and Sachin Khedekar and Tara played supporting roles.

Pre-release:

The film was touted to be the first Indian film based on conjoined twins and the first to use performance capture technology.

The concept of conjoined twins, songs by Harris Jayaraj, Suriya’s new look and the leading lady Kajal Agarwal set the expectations on the film soaring high.

Post-release:

Despite receiving mostly good reviews, it failed to make an impact at the Box office. The Tamil version of the film being banned in Karnataka due to the Cauvery issue is also said to have contributed to the film’s failure.

The Film:

A romantic drama directed by debutant Aishwarya Dhanush starred Dhanush and Shruthi Haasan in the lead roles.

The film’s music was by Anirudh Ravichander.

Pre-release:

Expectations on the film sky rocketed when debutant music director Anirudh Ravichander’s song, “Why This Kolaveri Di…” became a rage on the Internet.

The song was sung and talked about in all of India and naturally the film too got a lot of publicity.

Post-release:

The film opened well with seats filled with people who wanted to see how the most talked about song had been visualised. But following the bad reviews that the film received, ticket sales dropped.

Shruthi Haasan’s performance was acclaimed by critics; however, they termed 3 as a film not worth watching on the big screen.

The Film:

A superhero flick directed by Myshkin of Anjadhe fame starred Jiiva, Narain and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles.

The film was touted to be the first in the Mugamoodi franchise and the director planned to release sequels every year.

Pre-release:

The film was hyped as the first of its kind and was said to be on par with Hollywood standards. The expectation levels were also high as it was a different genre for Jiiva, who till then had either played dark roles or positive roles with a comic twist.

Promotions included a lavish first look and trailer launch, stills and teasers.

Post-release:

The film opened to mixed reviews. While some called it a novel attempt that lacked pace, others simply termed it an addition to the list of badly attempted superhero flicks.

Mugamoodi sank at the box-office and so did Myshkin’s dream of making sequels.

The Film:

The period film directed by Vasanthabalan starred Aadhi, Dhansika and Pasupathy in lead roles.

The film was based on Sahitya Academy winning novel Kaaval Kottam by Su Venkatesan.

Pre-release:

The stunning first look pictures that were released created a lot of buzz, with viewers and critics applauding the style and the detail. The songs composed by singer Karthi were also well received and helped add the film to the list of most anticipated films.

Post-release:

Though the critics unanimously applauded the grandeur and attention to detail, only a few were impressed with the screenplay.

Number of viewers dwindled and the film tanked at the box office.

The Film:

A romantic thriller directed by Elred Kumar starred Atharva and Amala Paul in the lead roles, and Santhanam, Jayaprakash, Anupama Kumar, Nassar, and Yashika in supporting roles.

Pre-release:

The film’s stylish and classy first look posters and teasers created a lot of buzz. Atharva, who was looking to prove his skills and Amala Paul in her first modernised look on Tamil screen, raised anticipation levels for the film.

Post-release:

Though the film was appreciated for its striking cinematography, it was heavily criticized for poor content.

MUK did not perform as expected at the box-office, but it received the honour of being screened at the Cannes International film festival.

The Film:

An attempted political satire by debutant Shankar Dayal starred Karthi and Pranitha in the lead roles and Roja, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Raadhika Sarathkumar, and Santhanam in supporting roles.

Pre-release:

Karthi’s apparent “Midas Touch” and the blockbuster success of his previous film Siruthai set the bar high for Saguni.

Promotions included press meet, stills, teasers and posters.

Songs by G V Prakash Kumar did not strike a chord with many. Just one song “Kandha Kaaravadai…” became one of the most downloaded songs at that time.

Post-release:

The film was released in over 1100 screens worldwide. Though Karthi and Santhanam’s performance came in for praise, the film failed miserably at the box office.

The Film:

An action film directed by K Selva Bharathy starred Sundar C and Sneha in the lead roles and Sindhu Tiolani, Vivek and Suman played supporting roles.

The film which was under production since 2008 was finally released in 2012.

Pre-release:

The film after being delayed for almost three years was the first one to be released after Sneha’s marriage to Prasanna. Hence the film was most awaited by the actress’s fans.

Post-release:

The film received negative reviews with most critics questioning the point of this remake.

Murattu Kaalai failed to ring any bells at the box office and Sundar C quit acting and went back to what he does best - directing.

The Film:

An action film directed by Natty Kumar and Dr Jay, starred Ganesh Venkatraman, Kalpana Pandit and Shobana in the lead roles.

Agnel Roman and Faizan Hussain, former associates of A R Rahman scored music for the film.

Pre-release:

Panithuli was touted to be one of the first Tamil films to have a large portion of the talkie shot in the lush areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

This was also Ganesh Venkatraman’s first film as the sole hero, which garnered some attention.

Post-release:

The film received a lot of negative reviews and tanked without a trace.

The Film:

An action film directed by Perarasu starred Bharath and Sunaina in the lead roles, and Rajkiran, Pandiarajan and Ashish Vidyarthi in other pivotal roles.

The director also forayed into music direction with this film.

Pre-release:

The film was most anticipated by Bharath’s fans who had not seen the actor in a long while on the big screen. Further the success of the director-actor duo’s previous film also created some eagerness about the film.

Post-release:

The film did not make any waves upon release and critics added the movie to the ‘Must Miss’ list.