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Which is the Highest Grossing Indian Film of All Time?

When adjusted against inflation several old Hindi films make it to the top 10.

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Recently, Disney’s Avengers: Endgame became the top-grossing Hollywood movie of all time at the worldwide box office by crossing $2,790,200,000, beating James Cameron’s Avatar. Domestically (in the United States) though Avatar still holds an edge, with $877 million in collections, compared to Avengers: Endgame, which made $854 million in the country.

But since Avatar was released in 2009, a good 10 years before Avengers: Endgame, it seems only fair to factor in inflation when determining the highest grosser of all time. And in that respect, 1939’s historical romance, Gone With The Wind comes out at the the top, beating both these films, as it would have managed to rake in around $1.80 billion if it had released today.

Considering these factors, it would be interesting to see which Indian film is the highest grosser of all time.

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Here’s a list of top 10 highest grossing Indian films of all time.

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The total earnings in today’s terms can be determined by dividing the film’s gross by average ticket price for the year that the film was released in so that we can get the estimated number of tickets the film managed to sell back then. And the adjusted figures can then be determined by multiplying the number of tickets sold with the average current ticket prices.

In India, Baahubali: The Conclusion (Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) is the highest grossing Indian film at the moment, but when adjusted against inflation, the equation changes majorly. Several old Hindi films overtake the Prabhas starrer.

The total earnings in today’s terms can be determined by dividing the film’s gross by average ticket price for the year that the film was released in so that we can get the estimated number of tickets the film managed to sell back then. And the adjusted figures can then be determined by multiplying the number of tickets sold with the average current ticket prices.

Mughal-E-Azam is followed by Nargis and Sunil Dutt-starrer Mother India (Rs 1,600 crore) on number two and Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay at number 3, with Rs 1,500 crore.

K Asif’s 1960 period drama, Mughal E Azam, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, remains the highest grossing Indian film of all time with Rs 2,000 crore in lifetime collections, when adjusted against inflation.

Mughal-E-Azam is followed by Nargis and Sunil Dutt-starrer Mother India (Rs 1,600 crore) on number two and Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay at number 3, with Rs 1,500 crore. Baahubali: The Conclusion, released simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, would thus end up being the fourth-highest grosser of all time, with over Rs 1,429 in collections.

Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit starrer family drama Hum Aapke Hain Koun ends up on number 5.

Dangal, which is currently at no. 2 in the highest grossing films list, drops to no. 11 (with around Rs 604 crore in lifetime earnings) when inflation is factored in.

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*All the numbers are approximate figures sourced from Wikipedia.

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