The first Indian film to earn ₹100cr worldwide outperformed 'Sholay'?
What's the story
The ₹100 crore club is a common occurrence now, but back in the day, it was a big deal. And, Disco Dancer achieved it in the 1980s! Aamir Khan's Ghajini (2008) has long been believed to be among the first films to achieve this feat. However, it seems that Mithun Chakraborty's Disco Dancer (1982) was actually the first Indian film to cross the ₹100 crore mark globally.
Record breaker
'The film was a roaring success...'
In Chakraborty's biography, Mithun Chakraborty: The Dada of Bollywood, author Ram Kamal Mukherjee revealed that the film not only broke records in India but also outperformed Ramesh Sippy's Sholay (1975) in terms of earnings. Mukherjee added, "The film was a roaring success overseas too, including Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia, China, the Middle East, Turkey and West and East Africa." "In fact, Disco Dancer was the first Indian film to gross ₹100 crore worldwide."
Film details
About the movie and its box office performance
Disco Dancer was directed by Babbar Subhash. It tells the story of Anil, a street artist who becomes a huge disco star. The film reportedly earned ₹6.2 crore in India and a huge ₹94 crore in the Soviet Union, bringing its total collection to approximately ₹100 crore. The film's music was also a massive hit and won several accolades.