This film was the first blockbuster in India to earn Rs 1 crore, and it isn’t Sholay, Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India, or Awara. The star of this groundbreaking movie was..
, Updated: September 21, 2024 3:08 PM IST By Edited by The first film in India to earn Rs 1 crore was released before the country gained independence. After the release of Gyan Mukherjee’s film, the concept of blockbusters began to take shape in India. This movie became a golden jubilee success, achieving what was once considered impossible at the time, as films typically struggled to make more than Rs 20-30 lakh.
Following the superhit film the industry saw a significant shift in trends. This is Bollywood’s first-superhit film..
. The 1943 film Kismat featured stars like Ashok Kumar, Mumtaz Shanti, and Shah Nawaz. It was ahead of its time, boldly depicting an unwed girl who becomes pregnant, thereby introducing the concept of the anti-hero in cinema.
Made on a budget of Rs 2 lakh, Kismat went on to earn an impressive ₹1.6 crore at the worldwide box office. Ashok Kumar became an overnight superstar with Kismat In the early 1940s, Ashok Kumar was rising alongside other young actors, but Kismat catapulted him to the pinnacle of Hindi cinema.
Many consider him to be India’s first superstar. However, as stars like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor emerged, the superstar label gradually shifted away from his name. Kismat held the title of the highest-grossing film for nearly a decade after its release.
It faced competition in 1948 from the Tamil film Chandralekha, but even that couldn’t surpass its impressive record. Ultimately, it was Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat that broke Kismat’s achievement, raking in Rs 2 crore in 1949. The film was remarkably modern for its time, introducing the concept of the “angry hero” in Indian cinema, a character who often operates outside traditional moral boundaries.
This groundbreaking portrayal paved the way for future icons like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, establishing a new standard for stardom in Bollywood. For breaking news and live news updates, like us on or follow us on and . Read more on Latest on .
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