The year 2023 was a pretty good one for the Indian cinema as many movies did well at the box-office. While some big budget movies like “Pathaan”, “Gadar 2”, “Animal”, “Jawan”, etc. created a storm at the box-office, there were few movies which were made on small budget but gave good returns to the makers and hence it was proved once again that content is the king.
Here is the list of such movies:
1. 2018:
The Malayalam language movie was based on the 2018 Kerala floods and how some individuals got together and contributed in the rescue operations. “2018” was directed by Jude Anthany Joseph and starred Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain and Lal in important roles. The movie was made on a small budget of Rs. 15 crores but went on to earn Rs. 180 crores and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time.
2. 12th Fail:
Directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, “12th Fail” is based on the life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma who became an IPS officer after overcoming many problems including severe poverty. The movie starred Vikrant Massey, Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, etc. in important roles. It was made on the budget of Rs. 20 crores and went on to earn Rs. 70 crores approx. at the box-office.
3. Zara Hatke Zara Bachke:
Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan starrer movie was based on the life of a couple from Indore who decided to take divorce as they wanted to take benefit of a government scheme and get a house for themselves away from family. “Zara Hatke Zara Bachke” was made on the modest budget of Rs. 50 crores and it earned Rs. 112.5 crores.
4. Baipan Bhari Deva:
The Marathi movie is a story of six estranged sisters who came together once again to win a competition and they had to stay together at their childhood home for practicing but then they had to face the past and struggles as well. The film is directed by Kedar Shinde and it stars Rohini Hattangadi, Suchitra Bandekar, Sukunya Kulkarni Mone, Deepa Parab, Vandana Gupte, etc. in important roles. The budget of “Baipan Bhari Deva” was Rs. 5 crores and it went on to earn around Rs. 90 crores.
5. Fukrey 3:
The third movie of the “Fukrey” series was also loved by audiences and it became a superhit at the box-office. The film is directed by Mrighdeep Lamba and starred Pankaj Tripathi, Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Richa Chadha, Manjot Singh, etc. in important roles. Rs. 45 crores were spent on making the movie and it earned around Rs. 128 crores.
6. Baby:
The Telugu language movie was directed by Sai Rajesh Neelam and it starred Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Anand Deverakonda and Viraj Ashwin in important roles. It was made on the budget of just Rs. 10 crores but it got great response from audiences and earned around Rs. 80 crores at the box-office.
7. Mark Antony:
The Tamil language science fiction action comedy movie is one of the biggest hits of the year of Tamil Cinema. Directed by Adhik Ravichandran, it was made on the budget of Rs. 35 crores and went on to earn Rs. 102 crores.
8. The Kerala Story:
The controversial movie which was directed by Sudipto Sen was one of the biggest hits of the year 2023. “The Kerala Story” was based on the story of a group of women who were coerced to convert to Islam and then they travelled to Afghanistan in order to fight for an Islamic terror outfit. Adah Sharma starrer was made on the budget of Rs. 15 crores and it earned Rs. 300 crores at the box-office.
9. Dream Girl 2:
The second movie of the “Dream Girl” franchise was certainly bigger and better than the first part as it went on to earn Rs. 140 crores despite being made on small budget of Rs. 35 crores. Ayushmann Khurrana once again played the lead role but Nushrratt Bharuccha was replaced by Ananya Panday. The movie was directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa and it also starred Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Manjot Singh, Vijay Raaz and others.
Which one of these movies is your favourite?