Filmworld
Here's why 'Baahubali' is India's biggest blockbuster
By
Haricharan PudipeddiChennai, July 17
It took S.S. Rajamouli's
magnum opus "Baahubali - The Beginning" just five days to enter the
Rs.200 crore club worldwide, making it the fastest Indian film to
achieve the rare feat. It has set several new records, has proved that a
film need not always require a superstar to become a blockbuster and
has successfully blurred the line between southern cinema and Bollywood.
One
of the biggest achievements of the Rs.250 crore film is that it's being
celebrated unanimously across the country. No other south Indian film
before has received the kind of reception "Baahubali" has been getting.
"Nobody
is asked whether they watched the Tamil, Telugu or Hindi version of the
film. Irrespective of the language, 'Baahubali' is being watched and
that in itself is an accomplishment for the makers," Karthik Kumar, a
Bangalore-based techie, told IANS.
"I've already watched the film
in Tamil and Telugu. I'm planning to watch it in Hindi as well. It
didn't feel like it's a dubbed film, thanks to the effort the team has
put into to make it look authentic," Karthik said.
"Baahubali",
about two brothers at war for an ancient kingdom, and which stars
Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannah Bhatia in the lead
roles, is one of those highly successful rare dubbed films. It came out
on July 10 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi parallelly.
The Hindi dubbed version of the film has netted a whopping Rs.46.77 crore, trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared on Friday.
"It's
not just the Hindi version. The film has done extremely well in Tamil
as well as Malayalam too. In Tamil Nadu, where the film has released in
Tamil and Telugu, it netted nearly Rs.15 crore from first five days,
while in Kerala, it has netted over Rs.3 crore," said trade analyst
Trinath.
According to Alok Tandon, CEO, INOX Leisure, different versions of the film have done well in different locations.
"In
the whole of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bangalore for example, the
Telugu version has witnessed tremendous footfalls, whereas in Chennai,
the Tamil version is doing extremely well. The Hindi version is
attracting huge audience in other parts of the country," Tandon told
IANS.
In INOX properties, "Baahubali" is one of the highest grossing non-Hindi language films, according to Tandon.
It
is every essential for any big film to sustain the first Monday after
release and continue its strong run during the weekdays. "Baahubali"
passed that test with flying colours.
Filmmaker Karan Johar, who
distributed the Hindi version of the film, posted on his Twitter page on
July 13: "When the Monday exceeds the Friday you know the film has won
the hearts of all!!!!! #BaahubaliA(sic)."
Monday numbers are very
crucial for any big film's success, said Trinath, and added: "When the
Monday numbers didn't even show slight dip, 'Baahubali' was on its way
to become a blockbuster."
In Bangalore, Urvashi Cinemas, one of
the biggest theatres in the city, has decided to continue playing
"Baahubali", snubbing superstar Salman Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan".
"Even
on weekdays, we're witnessing occupancy of nearly 90 percent. We're
playing the Telugu version, and the response has been exceptional. We've
decided to continue playing 'Baahubali' for this week instead of
'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'," a theatre representative told IANS.
"Baahubali"
has also turned out to be one of the biggest grossing non-Hindi films
overseas, especially in US, a market that belonged to the stars.
As on Wednesday, the Telugu version of the film minted over Rs.30 crore from US market.
The
film registered the highest opening and opening weekend for an Indian
film at the US box office, with a per screen average collections of
$17,000, second only to "Minions" with $27,000 over the weekend.
The
film has achieved appreciation from all quarters. From industrialist
Anand Mahindra to Indian cricketer Ashwin Ravichandran, everybody has
heaped praise on the movie.
Andhra chief minister N. Chandrababu
Naidu wrote: "I congratulate @ssrajamouli & team for creating a
masterpiece like #Baahubali. He has showcased might & pride of
Telugu Cinema to the world (sic)"
As the title goes, this is just 'The Beginning' for "Baahubali".
(Haricharan Pudipeddi can be contacted at [email protected])