With the hype surrounding Ranbir Kapoor’s return to the big screen after a four-year hiatus, fans were expecting a magnanimous response to his latest offering, Shamshera.

The Karan Malhotra directorial starred Ranbir in a double role, Shamshera and Balli, with Vaani Kapoor as his love interest and Sanjay Dutt as the antagonist.

However, it seems like even two Ranbirs couldn’t save the train wreck that this period drama resulted in.

According to reports, the cinema halls rarely saw an audience coming in to see the Tamasha star’s film.

As per Free Press Journal, Shamshera “seems to have failed to impress the audience.”

The report added: “Even after weeks of rigorous promotions, the film could not live up to its hype and witnessed a sublime start of INR100 million.”

However, according to a report in Zoom, several shows of the film were cancelled due to the absence of audiences at the cinemas.

Popular Indian trade analyst Komal Nahta too tweeted: “Another big film but the same story continues!

“Shows of Shamshera in the morning and noon, afternoon at some cinemas cancelled due to absence of an audience.”

The film is said to be made on a massive budget of 1.5 billion. Shamshera embarked on its journey with an opening of 100.25 million on opening day.

#Shamshera struggles on Day 2… Substantial growth on Sat was a must, esp after an unenthusiastic start… Mass pockets remain below par, which is a worrying sign… Sun biz is the last hope to recover lost ground… Fri 10.25 cr, Sat 10.50 cr. Total: ? 20.75 cr. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/7qXcOTOglF

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) July 24, 2022

India Today reported: “The opening is way lower than what the industry expected out of it.

“While the film was expected to take off during the weekend, looks like the collection remained low despite good word of mouth.

“In two days, Ranbir’s film managed to earn a mere INR200 million. According to early estimates, the film’s Sunday earnings have also not been great.”

When it comes to period dramas, the Indian audience typically craves something as monumental as Jhansi Ki Rani, Mahabharata and Jodha Akbar.

As a result, when audiences heard that Ranbir Kapoor’s period drama revolving around the British Raj was to be served, hopes were quite high.

However, all those hopes crumbled down upon witnessing the slowly developing storyline and lack of unconventional thinking.

The story’s main character is a slave who advances to leadership roles before becoming renowned in his society.

He never gives up the fight for the sovereignty and honour of his tribe.

Since everything appears to be predictable, there was nothing special about the storyline that would compel the spectator to watch what happens next.

The other setback point for Shamshera that most of the audience found was Ranbir Kapoor’s acting which didn’t manage to win over the audience.

Ranbir Kapoor earlier said that his role in the film would help him break his previous image but as per the audience, he failed to come out of his shell.

Fans took to Twitter and shared their thoughts about Shamshera. Some called out the ‘Hinduphobia’ in the film.

One user penned: “Shamshera, a movie where the villain Sanjay Dutt wears a Tripund Tilak and the hero, Ranbir Kapoor, prides himself on being free of dharma.

“Same old Hinduphobia. Same old nepotism. Same old Bollywood.”

One more user added: “Another Friday, another Bollywood film opens to empty halls and cancelled shows. YRF’s Shamshera has got a very poor opening at India BO; hardly 10-12% occupancy.

“PR obviously will push fake figures and stories, but the public’s message to Bollywood is loud and clear.”

Another added: “It looks like Prabhas and SS Rajamouli melted the brains of Bollywood producers.

“So many have tried and failed badly to deliver an action film in a historical setting since Baahubali broke records.

“Add Shamshera to that long list of historical disasters.”

Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film is set in the backdrop of the 1800s in the fictitious city of Kaza and tells the tale of a dacoit turned tribe leader.

Shamshera sees Ranbir in his first-ever double role where he’s playing a father-son duo, Shamshera and Balli.

The impressive trailer saw a very menacing-looking Sanjay Dutt as the officer Shudh Singh, who has been brought in to keep a rein on Balli.