The first Indian film that earned over Rs 100 crore overseas was made in just Rs 5 crore, is more profitable than many blockbusters.
Today, it may be an almost foregone conclusion that the biggest Indian films to be successful overseas have to be the big-budget extravaganzas with big stars and huge marketing costs. So it may come as a surprise to many that the first Indian film to gross over Rs 100 crore overseas had none of these.
The first Rs 100-crore overseas hit from India is...
The surprise answer is Monsoon Wedding, Mira Nair’s critically acclaimed film. Made on a budget of just $1.2 million (Rs 5 crore), the film grossed $22.5 million in the overseas territories, which was over Rs 100 crore at the prevailing exchange rate at the time. With this, it broke the record of Disco Dancer as the highest-grossing Indian film overseas, a tag it held for eight years till Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots surpassed it, followed by bigger films like My Name Is Khan and others.
How Monsoon Wedding was a bigger hit than even Dangal, RRR, Jawan
Monsoon Wedding’s Rs 110 crore worldwide gross gave it an over 2000% profit over its landing cost. This is higher than some mega blockbusters like Dangal, which earned Rs 2000 crore but had a much larger budget of Rs 75 crore. Other recent global hits from India – RRR and Jawan – were even more expensive. This means that even though they made a lot more money than Monsoon Wedding, the Mira Nair film remains more profitable.
How Monsoon Wedding triumphed overseas
Monsoon Wedding is a comedy drama focussing on a traditional Punjabi wedding in Delhi. It featured an ensemble cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, Vijay Raaz, Tillotama Shome, Randeep Hooda, and Vasundhara Das. Given Mira Nair’s credentials in the West, it was a joint Indo-US production, distributed by USA Films in North America. That gave it a wider release in US and Canada than most Indian films got in those days. After it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and several other awards internationally, its demand in the global market increased. Further nominations in the BAFTA and Golden Globes led to delayed releases across Europe, making it an international hit.
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