A few years back if you would have heard about a bollywod star joining a club, you would have certainly thought of it being a sports club or an elite club. Gone are the days when joining a business club or country club was considered to be the coolest thing around! It is the 100-crore club that is the latest buzz of the show biz. Over 100 years of time span, the Indian film industry has not only evolved qualitatively but also as one of the biggest and the fastest money-making businesses of the world. Tottering over the foot-steps of Hollywood, Bollywood too has set its monopoly in the 100 crore business.
So what exactly is this 100-crore club? It isn’t a hang-out spot; not an organization either. For those unaware, the 100-crore club is a virtual club of movies with a turnover of over 100 crores. This turnover is the net collection of a film after paying the entertainment tax to the different state governments. Here, the film’s overseas success in not taken into account.The 100-crore club, thus, segregates the more successful stars from those who only manage to fare averagely on the box-office. It is a status symbol, it is a brand; the 100-crore mark defines success in bollywood.
Wondering as to when and how did it all begun? Who other than the perfectionist himself would have laid the foundation! Yes, we are talking about the super talented man, Amir Khan! Amir Khan’s blockbuster Ghajini (2008) was the first film to cross the barriers of the 100-crore club but as they say, this was just the beginning! Just next year, when 3 Idiots hit the theatres it not only crossed the 100-crore mark but soon found its place right at the top with the maximum revenue till now. The other stars who have successfully acquired the membership are Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan.
While Salman Khan can be regarded as the brand ambassador of the club with four consecutive 100-crore films, Amir Khan still enjoys the status of being the trend setter. Amir Khan’s 3-Idiots is the first and the only movie till now to have crossed the 200-crore mark. The technique used for becoming a contender is simple- choose a relatively unique plot (not mandatory), pick up some popular faces, create a hype using the promotion techniques and the last and the most important, release the film on a public holiday! The 100-crore turnover will slip into your hands right away!
Easy or hard, today every other star is striving to secure a membership of this club. In fact, now that they have managed to hit the 100-crore mark successfully, the next is to reach the 200-crore banner! And with Chennai Express crossing over 235 crores, the race has begun! Money is the game and everyone wants to be the winner. Earlier the film’s success was measured on the basis of public liking, now the definition of a hit or flop has changed all the way. For a film to be accepted as a hit, joining the 100-crore club has become a dire necessity. With a trend like this, the future of the small scale films remains a question mark! As for the public, the only thing that matters is entertainment, entertainment and entertainment!
