India’s most worthwhile movie earned 100x its finances with no stars, ran for a 12 months in multiplexes, producer confronted IT raid
Up to date on: Aug 18, 2025 06:03 am IST
India’s most worthwhile movie had no huge stars, but ran for over a 12 months, and earned greater than 100 instances its finances.
To a layman, a profitable movie could appear like a success. The phrases superhit and blockbuster are additionally casually thrown round lately. However largely, the leisure business has parameters to outline these phrases. Any movie making twice its touchdown value on the field workplace will be termed a superhit. Something extra is blockbuster territory. Only a few movies ever transcend 5x of a finances. Then what of this one movie that earned over 100 instances its finances, and ran in theatres for over a 12 months. That is the story of India’s most worthwhile movie.
India’s most worthwhile movie
In 2006, writer-director Yograj Bhatt made a romantic drama titled Mungaru Male. The low-budget Kannada movie starred up-and-coming actors Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi, together with veteran thespian Anant Nag. The movie was mounted on a finances of ₹70 lakh. Upon its launch in December, Mungaru Male turned a sleeper hit, celebrating golden jubilees in lots of locations and turning into the highest-grossing Kannada movie ever. It turned the primary movie to finish one 12 months in a multiplex because it ran in PVR Bangalore for 460 days, and in addition turned the primary Kannada movie to cross ₹50 crore worldwide. By the tip of its run, Mungaru Male was estimated to have earned ₹75 crore worldwide. A staggering ₹57 crore of it got here from Karnataka, the place the movie was labelled an business hit.
Mungaru Male’s affect and legacy
Each Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi had been comparatively unknown when the movie was launched. However its success turned them into in a single day stars. Each actors gave different hits within the years to return, turning into probably the most sought-after female and male stars in Kannada cinema over the following half a decade.
Nonetheless, the success was bittersweet for the movie’s producer, E. Krishna. The Earnings Tax division claimed that Mungaru Male had earned ₹67.50 crore internet, and demanded that tax be paid on that. They even raided the producer for it.
Mungaru Male’s field workplace data stood for over a decade till many had been damaged by KGF Chapter 1. The movie was remade in Telugu, Bengali, Odia, and Marathi and spawned a non secular sequel, Mungaru Male 2, which was launched in 2016. Mungaru Male has loved a cult following amongst Kannada audiences, elevated by its repeated reruns on TV and up to date OTT launch.
