00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for Indian films
00:12that most notably pushed commercial success across continents and remain phenomena worldwide.
00:25Number 10, Durender, The Revenge.
00:292025's Durender faced controversy for the Indian nationalist overtures in a spy-infiltrating
00:34terrorism sponsors in Pakistan that did not slow down the international gross of over
00:3813 billion crore rupees, even with a three-and-a-half-hour runtime.
00:52The 2026 sequel is even longer, even preachier, and even more successful.
00:57Durender, The Revenge became the first Bollywood production to make the 1,000 crore club within
01:01a week.
01:02That's thanks to worldwide revenue, which is projected to clear that threshold again as
01:06distribution expands.
01:14There is, of course, the hurdle of Gulf nations banning the Durender duology for its perceived
01:19Islamophobia.
01:20The Revenge continues to divide audiences with its manipulative politics, but its entertainment
01:25value is getting a lot more attention.
01:32Number 9, Disco Dancer.
01:34Who said that disco was dead by the 1980s?
01:37That wasn't the case in India, where Disco Dancer dethroned 1975 Cholet for the highest
01:43ever global box office.
01:44No less impressive was its permanently becoming the highest-grossing foreign film in the Soviet
01:49Union.
01:56As distribution expanded, Disco Dancer became the first Indian film to gross over 1 billion
02:02crore rupees.
02:03Its ultimate gross would go unsurpassed for over 10 years.
02:13Along the way, the film and its soundtrack had such a massive impact on global pop culture
02:18that Osaka, Japan erected a statue of Mitoon Chukrabarti's character Jimmy.
02:22The musician's rise from busking to superstardom may have its turmoils, but the production itself
02:27is a wholly inspiring underdog story.
02:30I am a disco dancer.
02:33I am a disco dancer.
02:36Number 8, Pater Panchali.
02:38The Indian film industry was just starting to boom in the 1950s when Satyajit Rai made
02:44it a global phenomenon.
02:45His feature filmmaking debut, Pater Panchali, follows the coming of age of Apu Roy in a remote
02:50Bengali village.
02:51I am a disco dancer.
02:56This seemingly simple drama was so revolutionary in craft, characterization, and commercial
03:01success that it solidified a golden age in Indian cinema.
03:05After leading the National Film Awards, Pater Panchali won Best Human Document at the Cannes
03:10Film Festival.
03:18It went on to gross an estimated then unthinkable 10 million crore rupees worldwide.
03:23Then came two sequels to make the Apu Trilogy one of the most acclaimed film series ever.
03:28The first installment nonetheless holds the distinction of announcing India as a profitable
03:33force in world cinema.
03:38Number 7, Hum Apke Henkon.
03:41Disco dancer was bested by Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit as lovers conflicted by family
03:46obligations following a tragedy.
03:48Hum Apke Henkon was the first Indian film to cross 1 billion crore rupees domestically.
03:52And, with foreign markets roughly doubling that revenue, the industry took notice.
04:04Bollywood began moving from action melodramas toward more character and family-driven fare,
04:09partly to resonate with the Indian diaspora.
04:12Lavish productions also began to push more Indian-style consumerism, particularly within extravagant
04:17wedding culture.
04:25Hum Apke Henkon would wind up being a landmark in the local entertainment industry as an
04:29example to the world.
04:31Still, it was a long time before the new filmmaking model reached that level of success.
04:43It seemed like it would be a long time before Bollywood could match the success of the 2008
04:48Aamir Khan thriller, Gajni.
04:50One year later, Khan himself made the skeptics look like idiots.
04:53What Three Idiots lacked in brevity was made up for in hilarity and heart as a character-driven
04:58satire of higher education in modern India.
05:19The epic comedy swept the Filmfare Awards, impacted pop and academic culture, and grossed over
05:26400 crore rupees.
05:27It single-handedly supercharged the Indian film industry's presence across Asia alone.
05:43Khan and director Rajkumar Hirani struck again when 2014's sci-fi farce PK almost doubled
05:49Three Idiots' global gross.
05:50Of course, this would not have been possible without the earlier film's unprecedented success.
06:04This gem of international filmmaking follows two Londoners' romantic journey from Europe
06:08to India.
06:09Even more dazzling was the international success of Dilwale Dulhanya Le Jaienge.
06:17It never outperformed the previous year's Hum Aapke Hinkon, but it was the highest-grossing
06:22Indian film in foreign markets ever.
06:25This solidified the Bollywood tactic of targeting the diaspora, while setting Shah Rukh Khan up
06:30to become one of the biggest stars on the planet.
06:39DDLJ also won a record 10 Filmfare Awards.
06:43With this acclaim came a permanent residency at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir that obliterated
06:48the record for India's longest-running theatrical release.
06:50DDLJ is a literal physical landmark, but audiences of all cultures embrace it as a classic.
07:06The model of modern masala maximalism was perfected in 1975.
07:11Ramesh Sipi Shole blended Western action, buddy comedy, and epic drama with two petty criminals'
07:16adventures in a village under siege by bandits.
07:23Such divisive ambition, amounting to a runtime of three and a half hours, set the blockbuster
07:28up for box office failure.
07:29It was instead such a hit with audiences that it ended up grossing 35 crore rupees during
07:34its initial run.
07:38That's including revenue from around the world, and not including the highest-grossing re-releases
07:43of an Indian film prior to the 2000s.
07:45Shole is a cinematic triumph to this day, thanks in part to the cosmopolitan style that
07:51gave it unique international appeal.
08:02Few Indian films have attained a combination of commercial and critical success on the scale
08:06of triple R. None had grossed over 220 crore rupees worldwide on opening day.
08:24It also broke the record of 1995's Mutu for highest-grossing Indian film in Japan, where
08:30it ran for an astounding 500 days.
08:32All of this generated unprecedented hype in the West that echoed into awards season.
08:37Triple R set the record for the most accoladed Indian film of all time.
08:47It's commercial potential was limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, and perceived nationalist
08:52sentiments in the fictionalized story of two true crusaders against British colonialism.
08:57Over 1,300 crore rupees was still enough to signal a renaissance in Indian cinema's global
09:02market.
09:10An ancient hero's two-part quest to rescue a princess and realize his own birthright amounted
09:15to India's most expensive production at the time.
09:18Somehow, Bahobali The Beginning exceeded expectations in 2015.
09:27It was the biggest Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi-dubbed release ever, plus India's top earner in the UAE
09:33and USA.
09:35Roughly two years after the beginning grossed over 600 crore rupees, the conclusion grossed
09:40almost 2,000 crore rupees.
09:48This made it the highest-grossing Indian film ever, at home and in the West.
09:53And in 2025, the hybrid cut Bahobali The Epic became the industry's highest-grossing re-release.
09:59Even after a decade, the catalyst for the modern masala franchise model remains its commercial
10:04and pop-cultural champion of the world.
10:13Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:17Mother India, one of Bollywood's first masterpieces, doubled a global box office record.
10:28Mughal-e-Azam, the genre-defining epic was Bollywood's highest-grossing export for 15 years.
10:37My name is Khan.
10:42Shah Rukh Khan's journey to America was a fair hit at home, and India's biggest hit overseas.
10:47You already know my name.
10:49Yes, I do.
10:50Your name is Khan.
10:51Yes.
10:52And you are not a terrorist.
10:53Oh, no, no, I'm not a terrorist, no.
10:55Bajrangi Bhaijan.
10:57A heartwarming call for unity united the biggest international audience up to that point.
11:08Hushpa 2, The Rule.
11:10The 2021 sleeper hit The Rise was followed by the biggest opening day for an Indian film.
11:30Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's album Balance, classical music reimagined as rock, hard rock, and
11:37metal.
11:38Check out the full track and album below.
11:40Fortune calls, rise and ruin, night and noon, all are prisoners of the name.
11:53Number 1.
11:55Dangal.
11:55The true story of the Fogat wrestling family was begging to be a Bollywood blockbuster.
11:59Dangal was in fact celebrated for its relative restraint, and not just by critics.
12:10It had what was then the biggest opening for an Indian film in Australia, North America, and much of the
12:16Gulf.
12:16After it opened in China, where Aamir Khan is a superstar, things really took off.
12:21Dangal ultimately grossed around 20 billion crore rupees, emerging as the highest grossing Indian film ever.
12:33It narrowly fell short of the first Bahobali domestically, before being pushed out of the ring by the second.
12:39But with Dangal still holding the international record, audiences can trust that this film industry will give them their money's
12:45worth in entertainment.
12:50What are some other global box office smashes to come out of India?
12:53Let us know in the comments.
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