But sitting through Bhooth Bangla, released on April 17, 2026, I found myself doing all three. And what stayed with me long after the end credits wasn't fear, humour, or even irritation-it was disappointment. The kind that builds slowly, film after film, until one day you realise the actor you admired has stopped trying, or worse, stopped caring. According to my review for ET Now, the film is "disappointing"-but that word barely scratches the surface of what this experience felt like.

When Effort Is Missing, It Shows

Let me say this upfront: Actors evolve, audiences evolve, and not every film can be a hit. But what I saw in Bhooth Bangla wasn't a failed experiment-it was a recycled template. The same exaggerated expressions, the same half-baked comedy, the same lazy writing propped up by a star who seems to be on autopilot.

And that's what hurts the most. This isn't a newcomer figuring things out. This is Akshay Kumar-the man who gave us Airlift, Pad Man, Rustom, Jolly LLB 2. The man who once balanced content and commerce with remarkable ease.

Now, it feels like he's just clocking in.

2025-2026: Different Titles, Same Film

If you look at his recent filmography, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore. Whether it's Jolly LLB 3, Housefull 5, Kesari Chapter 2, Sky Force, Singham Again, or now Bhooth Bangla-everything blends into one indistinguishable blur.

Here's what stood out to me across these films:

• The same tonality-loud, exaggerated, and strangely outdated
• Characters that feel like caricatures rather than people
• Scripts that rely more on formula than storytelling

Even when a film performs decently-like Singham Again (Rs 389.64 crore worldwide)-it doesn't feel like an Akshay Kumar success. It feels like the franchise carried him.

The Box Office Isn't Lying

Numbers don't always tell the full story, but in this case, they're screaming.

Selfiee (2022): Rs 23.63 crore globally

Mission Raniganj (2023): Rs 45.66 crore

Sarfira (2023): Rs 30.02 crore

Khel Khel Mein (2024): Rs 39 crore domestic

Bachchhan Paandey (2022): Rs 67 crore worldwide

Even Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2023), which crossed Rs 100 crore globally, barely made a dent considering its scale.

Yes, OMG 2 (Rs 221.8 crore worldwide) worked. Yes, Sky Force showed some promise. But these are exceptions, not the rule.

Did You Know?

Akshay Kumar once surpassed Rajesh Khanna's record of 17 consecutive hits. Let that sink in. The same actor is now staring at nearly 20 underwhelming or failed films in a row.

That's not just a slump. That's a disconnect.

The Real Problem: He's Not Listening

This is where it gets uncomfortable. Because at some point, repeated failure stops being bad luck. It becomes a choice.

• He continues to do multiple films a year, despite clear audience fatigue
• He picks scripts that feel dated in a post-pandemic world
• He leans into safe formulas instead of challenging himself

And the biggest red flag? There's no visible course correction.

Akshay himself admitted in interviews that failures are his responsibility. But acknowledgement without change is just good PR.

From First-Day-First-Show to "I'll Wait for OTT"

This is perhaps the saddest shift of all. There was a time when his films guaranteed footfall. Today, people don't even realise when they release. The excitement is gone. The urgency is gone. The trust is gone. Audiences today-after discovering shows like Scam 1992 and Sacred Games-want layered storytelling. They want sincerity. They want effort. What they're getting instead feels like assembly-line cinema.

Overexposure Has Finally Caught Up

Akshay Kumar's "four films a year" strategy once made him Bollywood's most bankable star. Today, it's his biggest liability. Familiarity hasn't bred affection-it has bred indifference. When you see the same actor, in the same tone, doing the same thing every few months, the novelty dies. And with it, the audience's patience.

I Didn't Expect Perfection. I Expected Care.

That's really what this comes down to. I didn't walk into Bhooth Bangla expecting a masterpiece. I walked in expecting sincerity. Some effort. Some sign that the man on screen respects the people who are still buying tickets despite being disappointed again and again. But what I saw felt mechanical. Detached. Almost transactional. And that's a dangerous place for any star to be in-when the audience starts feeling like they're being taken for granted.

What Next?

Akshay Kumar is not finished. Not even close. Stars of his stature don't disappear-they reinvent. But reinvention requires honesty. It requires risk. It requires saying no to easy money and yes to difficult roles. Because right now, it feels like he's choosing convenience over craft. And audiences can tell.

Walking out of Bhooth Bangla, I didn't feel angry. I felt tired. Tired of defending an actor who no longer seems interested in defending his own legacy. Maybe the comeback will happen. Maybe one film will change everything. But until then, I can't help but ask-how many more chances are we expected to give before he starts taking us seriously again?

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