Why a high-budget period comedy became one of the most panned films of 2022

Art · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus aimed to capture the charm of a 1967 setting through a classic mistaken-identity plot. Despite a star-studded cast and a lineage tracing back to Shakespeare, the film faced harsh criticism from audiences and reviewers alike, ultimately becoming a significant commercial failure upon its December 2022 theatrical release.

The narrative of Cirkus centers on two sets of identical twins separated at birth by an orphanage director obsessed with nature-versus-nurture theories. Set in 1967, the film explores the chaos that ensues when these pairs—one raised in Ooty and the other in Bangalore—cross paths as adults. The production team intentionally selected this era to avoid the presence of modern technology like mobile phones, aiming to ground the comedy in a simpler time.

The film's creative roots are deep, serving as a modern adaptation of the 1963 Bengali film Bhranti Bilash, which was itself inspired by William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Director Rohit Shetty had long nurtured an interest in this genre, having previously considered remaking the 1982 cult classic Angoor. While Cirkus reunited Shetty with Ranveer Singh, the project struggled to resonate. Critics frequently cited weak writing, predictable tropes, and an overabundance of characters as primary reasons for its failure to land its intended humor.

Commercially, the film faced a difficult path. After multiple delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it finally hit theaters in December 2022. By January 2023, it had accumulated a worldwide total of ₹61.47 crore, a figure that fell short of expectations. Reviewers on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 0% approval rating, with many noting that the visual style felt artificial and the comedic gags felt outdated. Despite the negative reception, the film found a secondary life on Netflix, where it began streaming in February 2023.

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