Bollywood stars who distanced themselves from dud films

When a film works, everybody remotely connected with the project loves to take credit. However, when it bombs, the tone changes drastically. It's pretty obvious that the fault-finding system in the industry is not as developed as its PR machinery. No wonder one finds post-release statements by the actors that have very little to do with introspection and much more to do with box-office figures. In such a scenario, Ranbir Kapoor's decision to stand by his latest debacle called Besharam comes across as a lesson in professionalism. Over the years, there have been cases when his counterparts reacted differently to their films' failure. We take a look at few...

Katrina Kaif

Film: Boom (2003)
Premise: One of the biggest contenders for the worst films ever made in the country, this multi-cast movie provided a rather forgettable platform for the future big star of Bollywood -- Katrina. However, that didn't stop the actress from stating in an interview that the Kaizad Gustad film was a mistake and something she isn't very proud of.

Akshay Kumar

Film: Joker (2012)
Premise: The lead actor of this sci-fi comedy directed by Shirish Kunder refused to promote the film. And neither did the lead actress Sonakshi Sinha. Creative differences were said to be the reason behind these decisions. The movie went on to become a commercial dud, creating a much-publicised rift between Akshay and the film's co-producer Farah Khan.

Ajay Devgn

Film: Himmatwala (2013)
Premise: Director Sajid Khan's misguided clairvoyance of his remake touching Rs 200 crores certainly didn't help the case. On top of that, its lead actor reportedly went on record suggesting that he felt something was amiss even during the making of the film. Apparently, it was too late a phase to make any amendments to the set structure of the film.

Hrithik Roshan

Film: Kites (2010)
Premise: Though the Krrish star later acknowledged the debacle, he never stated anything against the director. On the other hand, his dad, producer Rakesh Roshan, apparently had unflattering views about Anurag Basu after the completion of first schedule. The buzz doing the round then was that Basu had even admitted that all was not well between him and Rakesh.

Govinda

Film: Deewana Main Deewana (2013)
Premise: The maverick actor once went on say that shunning the film industry to join politics was the worst decision of his life. Going by the time this film in question took to release -- about seven years -- and Govinda's reluctance to promote it didn't add brownie points to his repertoire either. Interestingly, Priyanka Chopra was gusto about the film despite the extensive delay.

Abhay Deol

Film: Aisha (2010)
Premise: Apart from disagreeing to promote the film because of his beliefs, Abhay put forth his dismay with the final outcome of the whole project. His stand against arguably India's first thorough chick-flick didn't go well with neither co-star Sonam Kapoor nor her dad Anil. A long verbal battle ensued which eventually fizzled out.

A tale retold

Dilip Kumar is rumoured to have interfered with the shooting of his film Dil Diya Dard Liya. No surprise that director AR Kardar was unhappy with what was going on on the sets. To add insult to injury, the legendary actor was eventually dissatisfied with the outcome and is said to have kept his distance from the project.

The turning point
In Hollywood too, there have been instances where actors have expressed opinions against their own films or simply disassociated themselves from the projects...
>> Sean Penn was reportedly mortified with the way Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2012) turned out to be. He made his disappointment public at Cannes Film Festival itself.u00a0

>> Edward Norton wasn't happy portraying the villain in the remake of Italian Job (2003). Nevertheless, the studio used legal provisions to make him work. He disowned the film.u00a0

>> Megan Fox had a lot going against Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) when she blasted director Michael Bay for being "like Hitler" and for using "too much SFX and not enough acting opportunities".

>> Halle Berry chose to do Catwoman (2004) just after she won the Oscar. She later admitted that it was a terrible error of judgment.u00a0

>> Even though she was appreciated for her performance in Knocked Up (2007), Katherine Heigl went on to blast the film as anti-women and humourless.u00a0

>> Jackie Chan recently stated that the next installation of Rush Hour may never happen because he found the previous three editions "way too Americanised".u00a0