Top 10 Successful Bollywood Low-Budget Films

The Indian Film Industry has achieved huge success worldwide with its dramatisation and the various cultures depicted. The plethora of film the industry has contributed to the world is great and has gained fans worldwide. It’s the largest film industry in terms of output. The massive Hindi Film industry, known as “Bollywood” has particularly gained attention from the global audience.

The early Indian film industry was largely influenced by British films. It has transitioned largely and today people know it as ‘Masala’ films. Indian films cover a lot of genres within a single film - there’s action, drama, comedy, romance all packed together in a minimum of 2 hours standard time.

Top 10 Bollywood Low-Budget Films with Big Box-office Collections

Bollywood films have gained huge applause from both national and international audiences. Here is a list of some of the best high-grossing films made on a small budget.

1. Bheja Fry (2007) - Rs. 8 crores

• Budget: Rs. 60 lakhs
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 8 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 18 crores

Bheja Fry was made on a meagre budget but earned whopping Rs.8 crores in the box office. It earned gross Rs. 18 crores worldwide. This comedy film was directed by Sagar Ballary and produced by Sunil Doshi. It is based on the French Movie Le Diner de Cons (1998).

2. Vicky Donor (2012)- Rs. 66.32 crores

• Budget: Rs. 5 crores
• Domestic Collection: 66.32 crores
• International Collection: $ 1.2 million (estimated)

Vicky Donor made a place for itself in the Indian media with its unusual film title and story. This romantic comedy was directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by actor John Abraham. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 60th National Film Awards.

3. A Wednesday (2008)- Rs. 30 crores

• Budget: Rs. 5 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 30 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 340 million (estimated)

A Wednesday is a thriller film written and directed by Neeraj Pandey. It won a number of awards like Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the 56th National Film Awards. This film inspired Tamil film ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’, Telegu films ‘Eenadu’ and the American English film ‘A Common Man’.

The great side about the small budget film is that was promoted based on positive word-of-mouth and critical acclaim success.

4. Tere Bin Ladden (2010)- Rs.15 crores

• Budget: Rs. 5 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 15 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 11,43,10,000

Tere Bin Laden did well in the box office. It collected Rs. 50 million within its opening weekend. It was declared as average grosser at the box office and made Rs. 82.5 million worldwide. However, the film was banned in Pakistan’s film censor board.

5. Phas Gaya Re Obama (2010)- Rs. 14 crore

• Budget: Rs. 6 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 14 crore
• International Collection: Rs. 3,96,00,000

Phas Gaya Re Obama is a Bollywood film that received positive reviews and critics’ acclaim. It was remade in Telegu as ‘Sankarabharanam’. Sanjay Mishra won the Star Screen Award for Best Comedian for the role he played in the film. He was also nominated for the Apsara Award for the best Performace in a Comic Role.

6. Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017)- Rs. 21 crore

• Budget: Rs. 6 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 21 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 21,56,00,000

Lipstick Under My Burkha is one of the very few movies that has made a mark on the audience with the bold female characterisation. It’s a Hindi language black comedy film directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and produced by Prakash Jha.

The film went on to achieve the Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality. It also received two nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Award, including Best Film (Critics) and Ratna Pathak won the Best Supporting Actress Award.

7. Kahaani (2012)- Rs. 104 crores

• Budget: Rs. 8 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 104 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 91,71,00,000

Kahaani is a mystery thriller film that got immense appreciation from audiences worldwide. It is co-written, co-produced and directed by director Sujoy Ghosh. One of the lesser-known facts about the film is that it used guerrilla-filmmaking techniques on the streets of Kolkata to be able to avoid attention.

It drew praise and applause from critics and won various awards, including three National Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards. Director Sujoy Ghosh won the best director award for the film while Vidya Balan won the Best Actress Award for the same.

8. Paan Singh Tomar (2012)- Rs. 20.18 crores

• Budget: Rs. 8 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 20.18 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 20,18,00,000

Paan Singh Tomar is a biographical film based on the story of athlete Paan Singh Tomar. The film directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia won the Best Feature Film award at the 60th National Film Awards in 2012. Irrfan Khan also won the best actor award at the same festival. Khan was also the recipient of Critics Award for the Best Actor at the 58th Filmfare awards while director Tigmanshu Dhulia won the award for Best Screenplay.

9. No One Killed Jessica (2011)- Rs. 104 crores

• Budget: Rs. 9 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 104 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 1.3 Billion

No One Killed Jessica is a biographical thriller film based on the real murder case of Jessica Lal. It was nominated for five Filmfare Awards. Director Rajkumar Gupta won the Best Director Award for the film while Vidya Balan won the Best Actress Award for the same. It was titled as 10th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2011 and earned Rs. 1.3 billion worldwide. For a film made on a minimal budget, it earned amazing returns

10. Peepli Live (2010)- Rs. 46.89 crores

• Budget: Rs. 10 crores
• Domestic Collection: Rs. 46.89 crores
• International Collection: Rs. 46,85,25,000

Peepli Live is an India satirical comedy film that revolves around farmer suicides. The film is written and directed by Anusha Riavi and produced by Aamir Khan. This was India’s official entry to the 23rd Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category. The film was ranked third highest-grossing film in the US domestic Market in its opening weekend.

Conclusion

Bollywood industry has always been colourful with great stories that thrill the audience. Films make the audience fall in love and explore cultures and diversity.