Bollywood's 'Dabangg' has record-breaking opening

Relaxnews
Monday 13 September 2010 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The first big release of Bollywood's peak season, Dabangg, starring Salman Khan, has smashed box office records in India and is also having an impressive run overseas.

Dabangg (which translates literally as 'Fearless') grossed 480 million rupees ($10.4 million) on its opening weekend in India (September 10-12), breaking the previous record set by 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan.

Box office from international markets including the US, the UK and the Middle East is an estimated $2.7 million. Big Bollywood films tend to open worldwide day-and-date with their Indian release as a way to combat rampant piracy.

Khan stars as a corrupt cop who breaks all the rules in the film, which is produced by and also stars his brother Arbaaz Khan.

A typical "masala" movie with song-and-dance numbers and over-the-top action and dialogues, the film is not going to win any awards, but Khan's star power and clever promotion has helped it become a huge hit.

The producers released the film to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid as Khan is a massive star in the Middle East as well as in India. It grossed one million dirhams ($272,210 dollars) over the weekend in Dubai.

In the UK, the film entered the box office chart in 12th position with a gross of £332,673 pounds ($514,178) - which is a strong opening for a foreign-language movie.

Local critics say the film's retro feel is also striking a chord with audiences after a few years in which Bollywood has been experimenting with different genres, to mixed results.

The next big Bollywood release is Anjaana Anjaani, a romantic comedy starring Priyanka Chopra and Bollywood's hottest newcomer Ranbir Kapoor, which Eros International will release on September 24.

http://www.dabanggthefilm.com/

LS

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in