The Rs. 100cr Club

It's time to talk money. harshikaa udasi lists the stars who figure in the elite guild of century-scorers

December 03, 2011 08:17 pm | Updated 08:17 pm IST

3 Idiots

3 Idiots

Unimaginable a few years ago, but this is true. In the Khans battle of Bollywood, Salman K has pipped Aamir K and Shah Rukh K to the post. The post being the coveted Rs. 100-crore mark! When it comes to attracting the masses there is no better person than SK, it appears. Like Imran Khan had said of the man when asked to identify his best qualities, “If anyone remembers the posters of Ready , there was nothing but a tight close-up of Salman. It could have been Ready for romance, action or fun. Nobody knew and nobody cared. That's Salman. Effortlessly popular.”

The man is definitely on a highpoint in his career. Bodyguard, Ready and Dabangg have all crossed net collections of Rs. 100 crore. Aamir comes a close second with 3 Idiots and Ghajini , while Ajay's Golmaal 3 and Singham have given him pride of place too. SRK has managed to get a foothold in this league with Ra.One 's Hindi version making the cut.

But the elite club of century-scorers has a bigger internal race happening. Who scores the fastest 100? And yet again the man with the Midas touch — Salman — is the top gainer with Bodyguard reaching the mark within 8 days! According to trade analyst Komal Nahta, in 2011, four films including Salman's Bodyguard and Ready , SRK's Ra.One and Ajay Devgn's Singham netted Rs. 100 crore. Of these, Bodyguard made it in 8 days, Ra.One in 10, Ready in 12 and Singham in 37 days.

Bodyguard, 2011

Starring: Salman, Kareena

This remake of an eponymous Malayalam film had a terrible plot and average acting, but it banked on its superstar Salman to do the trick and did he deliver! The ghost of Bodyguard came up even to haunt SRK after the release of Ra.One when the superhero's box office reports were compared to that of the bodyguard's.

Ready, 2011

Starring: Salman, Asin

After London Dreams went kaput, rumours were that Salman had promised Asin a film that would turn the tide yet again in her favour. Ready was just what the doctor ordered. The Hindi remake of the Telugu film of the same name became a stupendous hit with Salman's fan base making it race towards the 100-crore mark in less than a fortnight (12 days).

Ra.One, 2011

Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena

This mega-budget film may not have garnered reviews worthy of an SRK-film despite being his dream project, but Ra.One easily managed a century with its Hindi version itself. The superhero flick with SRK playing G.One or Jeevan, if you may please, got a mixed response, but has the cash registers ringing even now.

Ghajini, 2008

Starring: Aamir Khan, Asin

Yes indeed! It's a remake of a South film once more. Tamil film Ghajini was remade into Hindi with Aamir as the muscular, angry and wronged protagonist and the same heroine (Asin) to rave reviews. In spite of Aamir looking unbelievable as the man out to hunt down his lady love's killer, this film about a victim of short-term memory loss is quite well-imprinted in public memory. Ghajini was also the first in this string of 100-hitters.

3 Idiots, 2009

Starring: Aamir Khan, Kareena

This record-breaking film had everything working for it: a director (Rajkumar Hirani) who never falls short of expectations, an actor who has discovered his magic touch (Aamir) and an inspiring storyline. At last count, 3 Idiots had grossed Rs. 240 crore making Aamir the unstoppable Khan of those times. But since he has had no release in the last two years, his stocks are lying low.

Dabangg, 2010

Starring: Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha

A rustic cop named Chulbul Pandey (Robinhood Pandey), mouthing crass dialogues and swaying to some of the craziest dance moves, gave Salman his third entry into the 100-crore clan. Dabangg meaning ‘fearless' cemented Salman's position as the undisputed ruler of the box office. And the front row.

Singham, 2011

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Kajal Agarwal

Yet another South import for a script and the leading lady, and the action hero Ajay flexing some muscles, gave Bollywood enough to cheer about. With this remake of the superhit Suriya film Singam , Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty, better known to tickle the funny bone with their Golmaal series, got down to serious business. It took them more than a month (37 days), but they got to the Rs. 100-crore mark.

Golmaal 3, 2010

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Kareena

Though not half as strong in script as its predecessors, Golmaal 3 received a great opening in the Diwali of 2010. The Rohit Shetty-Ajay Devgn combine worked for the third time in this series and has them considering a Golmaal 4 too!

Number game

Needless to say, Salman has beaten everyone else fair and square with three biggies and Bodyguard hitting the top spot by netting Rs. 100 crore in the quickest turnaround time. Aamir comes second in the race, suffering mainly because of a dry spell at the theatres. Ra.One just about pushes SRK into the league, but even Ajay Devgn has two 100-crore hits to his credit leaving King Khan lagging behind him.

2012 will be a test of many heroes' mettle with films such as Agneepath (Hrithik Roshan), Talaash (Aamir Khan), Ek Tha Tiger (Salman Khan) and Yash Raj's untitled project (SRK). Even Don 2, the finale of 2011, is expected to breach the magical mark at lightning speed.

Ladies special

The girls seem to be demanding their share of the pie too only in terms of mileage though. Kareena, with four 100-crore films under her belt, would even make Salman Khan turn purple. However, her spell with the Khans ends this year, and now is the turn of Katrina to weave the magical yarn with a movie each with the Khan trio — Ek Tha Tiger (Salman), Dhoom 3 (Aamir) and an untitled romantic film by Yash Chopra (SRK). Meanwhile, Asin too got two films in the 100-crore club.

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