Top 5 highest-grossing Bollywood blockbusters of 2016

Indicating the changing preferences of Indian moviegoers

Entertainment

December 23, 2016

/ By / New Delhi



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Over the last couple of years, Indian cinema has witnessed its directors slowly wafting away from the regular conventional rom-coms and leaning in towards a flood of biopics and thrillers, and the diverse Indian audience seems to enjoy it, as the box-office collections of these films reflect.

The Hindi film industry is a towering line and though many Bollywood films are multi-million dollar productions, the return on these investments are quick; sometimes even before the release of the movies. 2016 witnessed the release of some of the best movies Bollywood directors have ever made. Here is the list of five highest grossing films of 2016.

Sultan
Released on July 6, Sultan, a mix of sports and romantic drama directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Yash Raj Films, focuses on Sultan Ali Khan, a fictional wrestling champion from Haryana whose successful career creates a rift in his personal life. Starring Salman Khan – Bollywood’s bhaijaan (brother) as he is popularly called, along with Anushka Sharma in the lead, fans showered the film with immense love and made it the fourth highest grossing Indian film of all time with a business of approximately INR 3.01 billion.

Salman Khan as a wrestler in Sultan

Salman Khan as a wrestler in Sultan

 

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, being a biopic of the world famous Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, created a lot of buzz even before its release. Based on the life of the current One Day Innings (ODI) and Twenty-20 (T20) captain of the Indian National Cricket Team, the film stars Sushant Singh Rajput as Dhoni and recreates the chronicles of his life from a young age to his stardom. The film was a hit amongst both Bollywood and cricket lovers and made a total collection of INR 1.33 billion.

'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story' have made it to the long list of 336 feature films eligible for the Oscars

‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ have made it to the long list of 336 feature films eligible for the Oscars

 

Airlift
Instilling a wave of patriotism, Airlift is a thriller story based on true events narrated back in the 1990s when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The story captures Indians stuck in Kuwait during that time and shows how these people survived and escaped the Iraqi attack with the help of Ranjit Katyal, a Kuwait-based Indian origin businessman, as he carries out the evacuations of the Indian diaspora. The movie was loved by every type of audience and earned approximately INR 1.28 billion.

Akshay Kumar in a scene from Airlift

Akshay Kumar in a scene from Airlift

 

Rustom
Another Akshay Kumar thriller cum crime drama, Rustom, is also based on a real life incident of the Indian Naval Officer K. M. Nanavati and businessman Prem Ahuja. Released on August 12, the film takes you back to the Bombay of 1959, where Rustom Pavri kills his wife Cynthia’s paramour Vikram Makhija, after stumbling upon their love affair. The box office collection of this movie is INR 1.28 billion.

A scene from the film featuring Akshay Kumar and Ileana D'Cruz

A scene from the film featuring Akshay Kumar and Ileana D’Cruz

 

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Surprisingly the only romantic drama in the list, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, directed by Karan Johar, is a love triangle between Alizeh, Ayan and Saba, played by the winner of Miss World 1994 pageant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the lead and collected INR 1.12 billion at the box office, which is a reflection to the fact that Indians have still maintained their like-mindedness to dated romantic stories.

The film dwells deeply on relationships, heartbreaks and how love completes a person

The film dwells deeply on relationships, heartbreaks and how love completes a person

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