Are Heroes Charging Too Much?

This week on Hot Chai Pod, we break down the biggest Bollywood headlines — from box office battles to star power politics.First, a no-spoiler review of O’Romeo starring Shahid Kapoor, Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, and Tamannah Bhatia. Did Vishal Bhardwaj deliver a retro masala gangster hit, or did the three-hour action drama miss the mark? We unpack the performances, pacing, violence, and why Tripti might be the real standout of the film.At the box office, O’Romeo outperforms Tu Yaa Main, the Shanaya Kapoor and Adarsh Gourav Valentine’s release — but with a 100 crore budget, is it enough? We discuss whether audience word-of-mouth can push it into hit territory and what this means for nepo vs outsider narratives in Bollywood.Then we zoom out to industry economics:Why has Tiger vs Pathaan (Salman Khan & Shah Rukh Khan) reportedly been shelved? Are massive star fees and profit-sharing demands putting the YRF Spyverse at risk? Is this a financial issue — or the “Dhurandhar effect” reshaping audience expectations?