Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun was widely regarded as one of the best Hindi films of 2018. With his film’s many twists and turns that could confuse even a fully-functioning navigation device, Raghavan established himself (once again) as a modern master of film noir in Bollywood. With the glowing reviews and the positive word-of-mouth, the film even became something of a (surprising) success for its producers. What has confounded most trade pundits though, is the film’s blockbuster run in China where it has already grossed more than Rs 100 crore within the first week of its release.
China has emerged as a fabulous market for films from around the world, especially from Hollywood and Bollywood. After Dangal‘s record-breaking success in 2016, the Chinese audience lapped up films like Secret Superstar and Hindi Medium, enabling the films to earn many multiples of their box office earnings in India. Andhadhun is no different, for the film that grossed about Rs 100 crore at the domestic box office, has already made that much within six days of its release in China.
Day 1 – USD 1.06 million [Rs. 7.33 cr]
Day 2 – USD 1.77 million [Rs. 12.25 cr]
Day 3 – USD 3.36 million [Rs. 23.26 cr]
Day 4 – USD 4.03 million [Rs. 27.90 cr]
Day 5 – USD 3.18 million [Rs. 22.09 cr]
Day 6 – USD 1.43 million [Rs. 9.96 cr]
Total – USD 14.83 million [Rs. 102.76 cr]
Source: Bollywood Hungama
Sriram Raghavan’s film was a rollicking ride built around a compulsive-lying protagonist (played by Ayushmann Khurrana), a cold-blooded femme fatale (played by Tabu) and superb cameos by both Anil Dhawan and Zakir Hussain. “What is Life? It depends on the liver…” went on to become one of the most famous lines in a Hindi film in 2018.
In a world where films like Sonchiriya and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota get crushed every few weeks, it is heartening to see a film of the calibre of Andhadhun doubling down on its success. Swearing on the collective talents of Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Sriram Raghavan and his writing team, no one deserves this success more.
