Tejas

Soaring through danger-filled skies, Kangana Ranaut commands the screen as fiercely patriotic fighter pilot Tejas Gill in director Sarvesh Mewara’s latest high-octane action-drama new this movie. Still haunted by childhood trauma, Tejas must conquer inner demons while embarking on a perilous mission to rescue a captured agent. Ranaut’s portrayal of the complex protagonist, grappling with PTSD amidst tense aerial stunts, anchors this turbulent thriller. This movie release date was 27 October 2023.

Backed by producer Ronnie Screwvala, Tejas promises slick production values, even if the thinly sketched supporting characters fall short. Chauhan and Mitra deliver solid turns, but the film belongs to Ranaut, conveying palpable anguish one minute and steely resolve the next. While mainly appealing to die-hard fans of its controversial star, this action movie still impresses with well-mounted flight sequences and underscores the sacrifices of India’s brave pilots. If only the script equaled Ranaut’s wrenching performance, this could have been a more complex, resonant film.

Tejas Box Office Collection

Made on a budget of ₹70 crore (US$8.8 million), Tejas movie box office collection was only ₹4.93 crore (US$620,000) at the Indian box office in its opening week. The film fared even worse overseas, collecting a meager ₹0.67 crore (US$84,000) for a worldwide total of just ₹5.6 crore (US$700,000). Tejas collection was not as expected by the makers and the Tejas movie budget was way higher.

As per the this action movie reviews, this abysmal box office performance made Tejas one of the biggest financial failures of 2023 among Hindi films. In fact, the film generated such poor theatrical business that most screenings were canceled on its very first day due to the lack of audience interest or occupancy.

Massive Drop in Collections Over Days with Poor Critical Reception

Tejas witnessed a massive decline in box office earnings over each passing day of its theatrical run. After a dismal opening weekend, the film’s collections kept dropping sharply with every subsequent day.

By the end of its second week, Tejas was pulled out from most theaters across India due to negligible audience footfall. The film was projected to lose nearly ₹50-60 crore for its producers and investors.

Along with floundering commercially, Tejas also received largely poor reviews from film critics after its release because this action movie story is not as appealing as expected. On the popular review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, Tejas scored only 11% based on 9 reviews with an average rating of 3/10.

Most critics criticized the film for its weak script, inconsistent tone, poor VFX, overacting by Kangana Ranaut, and lack of novelty or compelling drama compared to films like 12th Fail

Controversies Around Promotions

In the build-up to Tejas’ release, lead actress Kangana Ranaut sparked controversies and criticism over using politics and nationalism to promote the film. She managed to get endorsements for Tejas from UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Ranaut even visited the Israeli Embassy amidst the Hamas-Israel crisis in 2023 to somehow promote Tejas as a patriotic film. But these promotional tactics backfired badly and further damaged perceptions around the film.

Star Cast of Tejas

Kangana Ranaut stars as the lead character of IAF pilot Tejas Gill who is battling disturbing memories from her past while attempting a dangerous rescue mission of an undercover Indian spy. Ranaut had undergone intense training to essay the action-packed role authentically. The rest of the this action movie cast is given further.

Varun Mitra

He plays Ekveer, a squadron leader who trains the rookie pilot Tejas Gill. Mitra prepared extensively for his role by understanding the Air Force protocols, training regimes, and combat tactics. He also took flight simulation classes to appear credible as an IAF officer on screen. However, critics felt Mitra was underutilized in the film.

Anshul Chauhan

He essays the supporting role of Arfa, an air traffic controller who guides Tejas during the climactic rescue mission. Chauhan learnt technical jargon and mannerisms from real-life female Air Traffic Control officers to portray her character convincingly. But reviewers criticized the lack of depth in Arfa’s characterization.

Notable actors in this fascinating movie include Ashish Vidyarthi as the IAF Chief, Vishak Nair as fellow pilot Ajay Chauhan, Kashyap Shangari as Wing Commander Devrat, Sunit Tandon as Group Captain Digvijay, Rio Kapadia as Minister of Defence Rajesh Malhotra, Mohan Agashe as Tejas’ psychologist Dandekar, and Mushtaq Kak in a key supporting role.

However, none of these accomplished supporting stars could save this movie from sinking commercially and critically due to its faulty screenwriting. Reviewers singled out the shallow characterizations, abrupt tonal shifts, and lack of thematic depth as reasons for the film’s failure.

Will Tejas Find an Audience on the Internet?

It remains to be seen whether Tejas can attract viewership on streaming after its disastrous theatrical run. While small-screen streaming releases typically help bad box office performers recover revenues through renewed visibility, this movie extremely hostile critical reception and controversy-ridden journey could limit its potential even online.

Most reviewers advise skipping Tejas even on streaming unless one is a die-hard fan of lead star Kangana Ranaut and willing to ignore the film’s glaring shortcomings. For more casual Indian cinema fans, this movie unfortunately does not merit a watch according to critics.

Key Takeaways for Tejas

In conclusion, the major takeaways about Tejas’ box office performance and online streaming release are:

• Panned by critics for weak screenplay, tone issues, VFX, overacting
• Steep daily decline in box office earnings after opening week
• Pulled out of most theaters by the second week due to low footfalls
• Kangana Ranaut’s promotional tactics backfired, sparking controversy
• Unlikely to attract audiences on streaming, given scathing reviews
• One of the biggest box office disasters of 2023 for Bollywood

So, despite all the pre-release hype, This fascinating movie crashed and burned critically and commercially to become one of the recent most high-profile Hindi cinema failures. Its box office collection reports and online streaming prospects remain bleak months after its underwhelming theatrical run.