Historic Success Of Sanju, Padmaavat & Baahubali 2 On Non-Holiday Proves THIS!

The last 2 years have been game-changers for the Hindi film industry in several ways. There have been a lot of films that broke several barriers and myth that exist in the industry. It all began with Baahubali: The Conclusion, which despite being a regional film became the first film to surpass the Rs 500 crore mark at the Box-Office from the Hindi markets. What makes this achievement even more precious is the fact that the film set this humongous record on a Non-Holiday. Baahubali: The Conclusion was the perfect example of cinema being a directors medium.

The film was devoid of any Hindi film superstars, and the only reason why it managed to do the historic business was because of the story telling by SS Rajamouli. He created the moments that everyone in the country – right from classes to the masses, could relate to. While a lot of people in the trade thought that Baahubali 2 was on exception and cinema is still a “Superstars” medium, 6 months later came Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. After successful films like Ramleela and Bajirao Mastani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali became a brand, especially for the films riding on period set up. He was undoubtedly one of the biggest factors that grabbed the audience eyeballs along with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. The film commanded a positive word of mouth and managed to do the impossible i.e. raked in Rs 300 crore at the Box-Office in India. An interesting point to note here is the fact that it collected this amount with a release in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

6 months after the release of Padmaavat came Sanju. Rajkumar Hirani is the biggest brand director of Bollywood and without second thoughts he was responsible for a considerable chunk of opening day collections. His story telling format i.e. roller coaster ride of laughter and emotion struck chord with the audience and helped Sanju record a strong trend at the Box-Office. Sanju emerged one of the biggest blockbusters of all time on a Non-Holiday and is looking to end lifetime collections in the range of Rs 337 to 340 crore. No doubts, Ranbir Kapoor is a major star and delivered a phenomenal performance in Sanju, but it is Hirani’s story telling that got the audience on board in the long run.

The three films rewrote all rules as far as film business in concerned. These films proved that with the right content that appeals to the Pan-Indian audience, you neither need Eid, Diwali or Christmas weekend nor Aamir Khan, Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan to rake in those historic numbers. All that you need is a strong content and a sellable star-cast. In Padmaavat, it was strong content with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, whereas in Sanju, it was strong content with Ranbir Kapoor. With so many big films slated to release in the coming few years, we are set to witness the new era of Bollywood.