Rowdy Rathore, Housefull 2, Agneepath are the latest entrants to the Rs 100 crore club. Here's a look at all the films that feature in this club.
“The Rs. 100 crore mania is a myth. Firstly because it’s only 40% of the total earnings that comes to the producers, rest 60% goes in paying taxes and the share to the multiplexes. So Rs. 100 crores is nothing but a phenomenon created by the stars to keep their next film’s fee intact. Bollywood is a star driven industry, so the Rs. 100 crore hue and cry is intended to not just create a buzz about the film in question but also to raise the hype around the star’s upcoming films,” says Shailendra Singh of Percept Pictures.
Actors Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Naseeruddin Shah, too, have recently questioned the sanctity of the term. “The Rs. 100 crore club is just a fad which has come up in the industry for the past three years. The films which come under this category are of a certain genre only and done by those actors who have been in the industry for the last 20 years,” says Kapoor.
Priyanka Chopra points out that several small films have done better business than the Rs. 100 crore hits. “I’m happy that two films of mine — Don 2 and Agneepath reached that figure, but there have been a lot of small films as well which, according to ratio, have been bigger hits than most Rs. 100 crore films- be it The Dirty Picture or Kahaani, Ishaqzaade or Vicky Donor,” she says.
Agneepath, a 100-crore-club film
Not one to mince words, Naseeruddin Shah calls the figure “laughable”. “It is like a balloon which will burst soon. People in this industry like to boast, which is why the term ‘100 crore’ has come up,” he says. Actor Sonu Sood, whose film Dabangg reportedly made Rs. 100 crore also admits, “It is a fad. Films made on a budget of Rs. 50 cr make Rs. 100 cr and we think they have achieved a lot.”
Filmmaker Atul Agnihotri, who produced Bodyguard, says, “It could be a success benchmark only if the film was made on a small scale.”
Rowdy Rathore
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha
Earnings: Rs. 124cr
Housefull 2
Starring: Akshay Kumar,
John Abraham, Asin
Earning: Rs. 180cr
Bodyguard
Starring: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Earnings: Rs. 230cr
Agneepath
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra
Earnings: Rs. 193cr