When adjusted for inflation, the highest grossing Indian film has earned Rs 3650 crore, a figure no other film can dream to cross today
The 100-crore club was established in Indian cinema just over 15 years ago. And already, the 1000-crore club is displacing it as the new benchmark for grand box office success. Half a century ago, even Rs 10 crore gross was a bonus courtesy the low ticket prices and inflation. However, if we adjust films’ earnings for inflation, many older blockbusters pip newer hits like Baahubali and Dangal, and that too, by a huge margin. As things stand, Dangal remains the only Indian film to gross Rs 2000 crore but when adjusted for inflation, one film surpasses even Rs 3000 crore.
1. Highest grossing Indian film when adjusted for inflation
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K Asif’s magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam was the highest grossing Indian film when it released and even today, when adjusted for inflation, it remains that. The film earned Rs 11 crore in 1960, which translates to a whopping Rs 3650 crore today
2. How does Mughal-e-Azam’s gross increase so much?
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Mughal-e-Azam released at a time when tickets were priced under Re 1. The corresponding figure today is over Rs 200. But Mughal-e-Azam sold more tickets than any other film in India, with footfalls of several crore
3. Mughal-e-Azam’s record run
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Mughal-e-Azam set several records when it released. The demand for tickets was so high that one lakh people queued outside Maratha Mandir in Mumbai, with some tickets selling in black for Rs 100. In many theatres, the film ran housefull for three years
4. All about Mughal-e-Azam
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Starring Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote, and Ajit, Mughal-e-Azam was a historical epic, fictionalising the rebellion of Mughal prince Salim against his father Emperor Akbar. Made in Rs 1.5 crore, it was the most expensive Indian film at the time
5. How Mughal-e-Azam compares with modern blockbusters
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As per Box Office India, Mughal-e-Azam sold 10 crore tickets in India, more than the combined figure of recent all-time blockbusters like RRR (4.4 crore) and Jawan (3.9 crore). Its inflation-adjusted gross of Rs 3650 crore is higher than the combined earning of Animal (Rs 900 crore), RRR (Rs 1387 crore), and Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 1040 crore)
6. Other high grossing films when adjusted for inflation
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No other Indian film crosses Rs 3000 crore when adjusted for inflation save Mughal-e-Azam. However, Sholay does come close at Rs 2800 crore. Other films that cross Rs 2000 crore after inflation adjustment are Dangal, Baahubali 2, Mother India, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
