Baahubali: The Beginning leads the list.
SS Rajamouli's Telugu film Baahubali is a blockbuster, just like its dubbed version in Hindi.
In fact, the Hindi dubbed version has done so well that it has managed to collect almost the sum total of all dubbed hits in India over the last 20 years.
Unbelievable, but true.
Let's take a look.
Baahubali: The Beginning
Box office: Rs 90 crore (expected)
With amazing special effects and spectacular performances by all the actors, the Hindi dubbed version of Telugu blockbuster Baahubali: The Beginning has managed to collect over Rs 65 crore already.
The worldwide gross of Baahubali (across all languages) has already crossed the Rs 300 crore mark. The film is already competing with the biggest Indian grossers in the international markets.
Had it not been for Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which released the week after, Baahubali would done much better.
SS Rajamouli's film is now the biggest dubbed film from down South, and has set a benchmark for future releases.
Robot
Box office collection: 20 crore
Before Baahubali, it was Shankar's Robot that had caught imagination of audience across the country.
With a powerful star cast comprising of Rajinikanth (in a double role), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa, the film went on to be a decent success in Hindi. If the film had been marketed as strongly as Baahubali was, it may have managed to do better at the box office.
Vishwaroopam
Box office collection: 19 crore
Kamal Haasan has quite a few fans in Hindi speaking regions as well.
His Tamil film Vishwaroopam was marked for a pan-India audience, and it went on to do good business at the box office.
I
Box office collection: 18 crore
Director Shankar has been one of the most successful directors from down South, who has made his presence felt among the Hindi speaking audience as well.
His Tamil film I had some great promos and decent marketing. With Vikram and Amy Jackson in lead roles, the film saw some decent collections coming its way.
Bombay
Box office collection: 13 crore
Released 20 years back, Bombay was the highest (South) dubbed grosser ever for a long time. The film, which saw a romance blossom in the backdrop of the 1993 Mumbai riots, was embroiled in controversies around its release and that helped it immensely.
Manisha Koirala was the leading female star and Bombay emerged a superhit.
Hindustani
Box office collection: 11 crore
Another Kamal Haasan-starrer to have managed a superhit status across the country was Hindustani.
Dubbed from the Tamil film Indian, the venture was as big as it could get, what with Kamal Haasan, director Shankar, leading ladies Manisha Koirala and Urmila Matondkar and composer AR Rahman coming together.
An excellent film that took on corruption, it's compelling father-son drama added to its emotional appeal.
Roja
Collections not available
Way back in 1992, Roja was the first ever film from South India to make a massive impact across the country.
It not just introduced Mani Ratnam and Arvind Swamy to a pan-India audience (Madhoo was already known after her film with Ajay Devgan, Phool Aur Kaante) but also introduced a hot-shot composer AR Rahman.
The film's music and story brought in the audiences.
Sivaji
Box office collection: Rs 8 crores
Rajinikanth's Sivaji made such an impact in the Hindi-speaking belt, especially in Mumbai and Delhi, that even a much hyped Yash Raj film, Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom, which released on the same day, bowed down to it.
Directed by Shankar, Sivaji was well appreciated. The action drama was vintage Rajinikanth stuff and the younger generation woke up to the Superstar.
Humse Hai Muqabla
Collections not available
The songs Mukkala Muqabla and Urvashi were such massive chartbusters way before the release of the film they appeared in that by the time Humse Hai Muqabla (dubbed from Tamil film Kadhalan) released, it was hot property already.
Nagma was already popular in Bollywood and Prabhu Dheva became a household name, thanks to his super dancing abilities.
The film released to a good response and ran for many weeks across India.
Chaar Sahibzaade
Box office collection: Rs 3 crore
The only non-South film to make this list is Chaar Sahibzaade.
Harry Baweja's Punjabi animation film went on to do a massive business of 40 crore worldwide.
Though contribution from the Hindi dubbed version was lesser at Rs 3 crore, it was still substantial.
© 2024 Rediff.com -