Alia Bhatt starrer Raazi crosses the Rs. 100 crore mark
Alia Bhatt’s Raazi has crossed the Rs 100 crore-mark at the box office – an occasion for celebration for its producers, Junglee Pictures and Dharma Films.
Raazi cost an estimated Rs 37 crores to make, and was released in approximately 1,250 theatres across India on May 11. It is not the first production to cross the figure that is considered the gold standard for success in the Hindi film trade. But the milestone is significant for several reasons.
Raazi has been directed by a woman and driven by another. In an industry in which female directors are few and actresses rarely headline projects, the movie’s box-office haul will be cited as proof that the glass ceiling has cracked, even if it hasn’t given way completely.
For Meghna Gulzar, the superlative performance of Raazi, which follows the widely appreciated Talvar (2015), burnishes her credentials as a reliable director who can handle material that is not traditionally considered women-centric.
The most powerful engine of Raazi, however, is its 25-year-old heroine. Ever since she made her debut with Student of the Year in 2012, Alia Bhatt has been a bona fide star. She has steadily charmed audiences and critics by astutely choosing a mix of roles that allow her to show off her acting range.
Bhatt’s hits include Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014), 2 States (2014) and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), successes that can be attributed to a host of factors other than Bhatt.
With Raazi, Bhatt has proven her ability to steer what the Hindi film trade calls a “solo-heroine project”. Filmmakers do not trust actresses to shoulder movie plots because they believe that the women do not have the ability to “command an opening” – lure in audiences within the first few days of the release. There are notable exceptions, such as Kangana Ranaut and Vidya Balan.
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