She came, she danced and she returned.
That's right. Madhuri Dixit has gone back to her family in Denver, the United States, after her comeback vehicle Aaja Nachle released over the weekend.
Though Madhuri's acting was brilliant, there were not many takers for the movie.
Some multiplexes recorded 30 percent ticket sales while the scene in single-screen theatres was even more discouraging.
And this despite no other major competition. The only other release last week was the low budget film Gauri.
"Madhuri danced and acted well but she chose a wrong script," said trade analyst Komal Nahta. "The film was anti-modernisation and therefore did not click."
Comparing the film to John Mathan Matthew's movie starring Ajay Devgan and Shahid Kapoor, Nahta said, "Aaja Nachle was on the lines of Shikhar and therefore it did not appeal to masses. The content was poor."
Adding to Aaja Nachle's woes was the controversy over the lyrics of a song. UP Chief Minister Mayawati, while banning the film, termed the lyrics of the title track as casteist. Punjab and Haryana followed suit, but soon revoked the ban following producers Yash Raj Films' apology and the deleting of the objectionable words.
Though the ban did not amount to huge losses, the damage is already done.
"The theme of saving a dancing school was not good enough. Except for Madhuri, the film had nothing to woo the audience," said trade analyst Vinod Mirani.
"Moreover, to the new generation of cinegoers, Madhuri's name does not mean anything so all the talk of a comeback did not make much sense. There was curiosity among the people for Madhuri but when they saw the promos and got to hear about the script, the curiosity was killed," Mirani added.
Aaja Nachle was not produced at a very high cost, and the only star attraction was Madhuri. The producers, hence, are not likely to suffer heavy losses. One analyst, on condition of anonymity, pegged the "maximum loss" at "Rs 5 crores (Rs 50 million) and not more than that."
But it is a big setback for the country's biggest banner, as Aaja Nachle is its fourth flop of the year, after Ta Ra Rum Pum, Jhoom Bara Bar Jhoom and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag.
The only film that did well for Yash Raj this year was the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! India.