Bullock cart used to take the collected coins to the producer’s office – Amazing story of Bollywood’s first box office hit film

Bollywood Movies: Today it is not a big deal for a film to join the Rs 100 or Rs 200 crore club at the global box office. In terms of box office revenue, Indian films are really competing with international films. The Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone starrer Pathan, which released recently, is the perfect example; It has done amazingly well in both the Indian and International markets. The film became a member of Rs 500 crore in just six days. 300 crore club. It broke several domestic box office records, including highest-grossing 2023 film and highest-grossing Bollywood film. However, the current era is a far cry from the days when films were solely dependent on audiences packing single-screen theaters across India. No illusory “100-crore” club existed. Let’s take a look at the first Hindi film to label a box office success and other significant financial achievements in the history of Hindi film in the era of Rs 100 crore smash.

first box office hit

Dadasaheb Phalke, inspired by the popularity of Raja Harishchandra, produced some additional mythological films including Satyavan Savitri, Mohini Bhasmasur and Lanka Dahan. Lanka Dahan was the first commercial success after Raja Harishchandra, the first attempt that was successful. The mythological film, which told the story of Sita’s abduction, opened at 7 am and continued to be screened throughout the day, attracting audiences of all ages till midnight. The film opened to favorable response and became very popular. Lanka Dahan was extremely sophisticated in terms of special effects and technique. It is interesting to note that this was also the first film in which both Rama and Sita were portrayed by the same artist, Anna Salunke!

fight for tickets

Lanka Dahan (1917), a legendary silent film by Dadasaheb Phalke, was one of the first films to be made full of affection and money by the general public. According to media sources, the coins from the ticket booths were allegedly collected in gunny bags and brought to the producer’s office on bullock carts. Despite being a silent picture, Lanka Dahan was a huge hit. At the Majestic Theater in Bombay, there were long lines where people jostled for seats and fought for tickets and threw coins at the ticket window.

When considering the various phases of cinematic culture, the era of silent films appears to be one of the most challenging and often neglected phases of Indian cinema. During this time the actors had to work extremely hard on their acting skills as they could not speak and had to rely only on their facial expressions.