Regional Indian films challenge Bollywood on global turf1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minutePunjabi film Dharti is making waves among Indians in Australia. The low-budget movie, released two weeks ago, has collected Rs 1.19 crore from 10 screens, overtaking the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Dum Maro Dum.
Both were released around the same time. The star-studded Hindi movie has collected Rs 95.40 lakh from 26 screens. This makes Dharti the top grosser among Indian films in Australia.
Dharti’s success is not confined to Australia. It is number one in returns to exhibitors in the UK from an Indian film. The average collection per hall has been £1,771. For Dum Maro Dum, the figure is £833.
With audiences looking beyond Bollywood, regional films are fast catching the fancy of Indians living abroad. More than a dozen movies in an array of languages – Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, Bhojpuri, Bengali and Marathi – are scheduled for overseas launch this summer.
