We were just checking out the list of upcoming Bollywood releases and the relevant Wikipedia page had listed Saif Ali Khan’s Kaalakaandi for this weekend, just like the movie’s teaser and all other related content on the internet.

The cinema halls, though, later confirmed the film’s absence from theatres this week. More than anything else, it came in as a relief because there was absolutely no buzz surrounding the indie film despite starring Saif Ali Khan.

But the question remains that does the junior Nawab still possess the appeal to drive films on his own?

Saif’s last commercial success was the Race 2. (If you speak of non-multi-starrers, his last hit dates back to Cocktail in 2012)

So essentially Saif is coming in to his next release on the back of as many as five consecutive flops — Rangoon, Phantom, Happy Ending, Humshakals and Bullet Raja. 

After finally cutting his teeth into the industry with the National Award-winning Dil Chahta Hai, hits have been far and few between. Barring Kal Ho Na Ho, Hum Tum, Love Aajkal and Omkara, Saif has hardly done any work of notice. 

Plus he ran into unnecessary trouble with Kangana Ranaut by reigniting the nepotism debate with the help of Karan Johar and Varun Dhawan while hosting the IIFA award ceremony earlier this year. 

Before this, the actor was identified among the liberal and broad-minded voices in the industry. But not only was this an exhibition of his faltering comic timing, but it paved way for an even worse open letter with which he only made a fool of himself.

Kaalakaandi and Chef aside, Saif has a couple of projects lined up for the near future that could really make or break his setting career. If neither of Nikhil Advani’s rags to riches drama Baazaar and the Netflix original series Sacred Games work out well for Saif, it could well spell the beginning of the end for him.