Box Office Milestones of the Hindi Film Industry

• Posted in : Bollywood,Box Office
• |
• September 23rd, 2013.

Readers here on Indicine are well aware of most box office records in recent times, but ever wondered which Hindi film was the first film to do 1 crore net business? Or for that matter the first film to collect 5 crore and 10 crore at the domestic box office?

Way back in the year 1943, Gyan Mukherjee's Kismet was the first film to collect Rs 1 crore in its entire run at the box office. Starring Ashok Kumar, Mumtaz Shanti and Shah Nawaz, Kimset was produced by the first public limited film company Bombay Talkies.

Bollywood Blockbusters

More than 17 years later, K Asif's iconic Mughal-e-azam was the first Hindi film to surpass the 5 crore mark. The historic costume drama featured Prithviraj Kapoor as Emperor Akbar, Dilip Kumar as Salim and Madhubala as Anarkali.

The industry had to wait for 15 more years, when Ramesh Sippy's 1975 All-time-blockbuster Sholay became the first film to collect 10 crore. The Amitabh Bachchan - Dharmendra - Hema Malini - Jaya Bachchan starrer was also the first to 15 crore.

And then the KHAN Domination' began. Apart from Sunny Deol's Gadar Ek Prem Katha which was first to 75 crores, every milestone was owned by either Salman Khan (25 and 50 crore), Aamir Khan (100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 crore) or Shahrukh Khan (225 crore).

Full list of all the major milestones. It goes without saying that all the below films are some of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Indian Cinema.

• 1 crore - Kismet (1943)
• 5 crore - Mughal-e-azam (1960)
• 10 crore - Sholay (1975)
• 25 crore - Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994)
• 50 crore - Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994)
• 75 crore - Gadar Ek Prem Katha (2001)
• 100 crore - Ghajini (2008)
• 125 crore - 3 Idiots (2009)
• 150 crore - 3 Idiots (2009)
• 175 crore - 3 Idiots (2009)
• 200 crore - 3 Idiots (2009)
• 225 crore - Chennai Express (2013)

Which film will be the first to 250, 275 and 300? It could well be Krrish 3 or Dhoom 3 this year. There is Mental, Happy New Year and Kick. If none of them manage to break into the the 250 crore club, Aamir Khan's Peekay directed by Rajkumar Hirani is almost certain to achieve the next milestone!