25 Years Of Govinda & Karisma Kapoor’s Coolie No. 1: The David Dhawan Laugh Riot That Gave Birth To No. 1 Franchise
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Back in the 90s, Govinda and David Dhawan were a team. After the actor decided to work with the upcoming director in Taaqatwar and Swarg, an action entertainer and a family drama respectively, there was no looking back. The real fun started though whey they started collaborating on comedies. Shola aur Shabnam was a hit, Aankhen was a blockbuster and Raja Babu was another major superhit. With a hat-trick of comedy successes behind them, it was time to make something special.
This is how Govinda led Coolie No. 1 was born.
The film had Govinda playing a simpleton who took everyone around him for a ride, be it is his wife Karisma Kapoor or his rich father-in-law, Kadar Khan. Audiences were super excited about watching the film from the trailer stage itself and when songs like ‘Main To Raste Se Jaa Raha Tha’ an ‘Husn Hai Suhana’ turned out to be chartbusters, the masses were one.
This was evidenced exactly 25 years back on 30th June 1995 when the film released to packed houses all over. Those days, even an opening of 50 lakhs was considered to be good enough and here, Govinda starrer Coolie No. 1 actually went on to take a start of 75 lakhs. The film kept gaining audiences and the first week managed to go past the 3.5 crores mark, hence ending up recovering its entire budget in quick time.
However, the real clincher was the sustained run that it enjoyed on week by week basis, hence accumulating around 13 crores in the final run. This was a very good number, hence ensuring that the film managed a super-hit tagging for itself.
Another major benefit coming out of Coolie No. 1 was that it gave birth to the No. 1 franchise. Govinda and David Dhawan along with Karisma Kapoor went on to deliver Hero No. 1, another major success. Later, David Dhawan made Biwi No. 1 with Salman Khan and that film was a huge winner as well. Jodi No. 1 with Sanjay Dutt and Govinda was a hit as well while Govinda did Aunty No. 1 with Kirti Kumar, another fair success. David Dhawan’s Shaadi No. 1 flopped though and so did Govinda’s Beti No. 1. However, Govinda’s Anari No. 1. worked well.
Today, though Govinda has taken a long break from the No. 1 series, David Dhawan is all set to bring his Coolie No. 1 remake with son Varun Dhawan for producer Vashu Bhagnani.
Can’t wait!
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