There are lots of debates on how one can determine a film's quality. Is it what the critics say, or does the audience have a final word here? A consensus is often reached via review aggregator websites like Rotten Tomatoes or the ratings of Internet Movie Database (IMDb). The winner (or loser) is clear if one goes by the latter parameter. One film beats all other rivals by such a wide margin, that it clearly emerges as the 'worst' Indian film ever made.

The lowest-rated Indian film on IMDb

According to the Internet Movie Database, the ill-fated and quite controversial Deshdrohi is the lowest-rated Indian film on the platform, among those that have received at least a thousand ratings. With over 67,000 people rating it on IMDb, Deshdrohi, the 2008 box office disaster, has a lowly rating of 1.2 out 10, even lower than duds like Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Gunday, and Adipurush. Deshdrohi, directed by Jagdish Sharma, was made on a budget of ₹3 crore but ended up grossing only ₹89 lakh worldwide.

The drama around Deshdrohi

Made on a theme of the ostracisation of people from UP-Bihar in Mumbai, the film also dealt with issues like drug abuse and terrorism. But its production was doomed from the start when film financier Kamaal Rasheed Khan, aka KRK, signed on as the lead star. He had established actors like Gracy Singh, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Manoj Tiwari, and Kader Khan supporting him, but it wasn't enough. The film was accused of trying to profit off the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and also fell foul of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS). As a result, it was banned in Maharashtra and critically panned wherever it was released.

Deshdrohi's legacy

Apart from being the lowest-rated Indian film ever, Deshdrohi has little to be remembered by. It turned KRK from an unknown film financier to a cult icon. He cashed on fame to become a self-proclaimed movie critic and social media personality, culminating in a Bigg Boss appearance years later.

However, the film did not fare well for its two female leads - Gracy and Hrishitaa. Of them, Gracy was hit harder. The actor had a fledgling career with hits like Lagaan and Munnabhai MBBS behind her. But after Deshdrohi, offers dried up. She moved to the south, appearing in a handful of Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu films. But for the next few years, her only releases in Hindi were the films she signed before Deshdrohi was released. She did return to Hindi entertainment years later as the star of the spiritual TV show Santoshi Maa.

Despite all this, KRK announced a sequel - Deshdrohi 2 - in 2022, claiming that it would be ‘bigger than the original’. A first look poster was released two years ago but there has been no development on it since.

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