Filmy Kiss: There are many such films in the history of Bollywood which, once released, remained on the screens not for a few weeks or a few months, but for one to two years. Many films earned many times the budget and made an actor a superstar. One such film was released in theaters during World War 2. This film had such a magic on the audience that it proved to be the first blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema.
The story of the film, which was made on a small budget, was such that when it came on screen, people kept clapping and the film went on collecting rapidly. This film ‘Kismat’ was released in 1943, in which legend Ashok Kumar appeared as the lead actor and after this film he became the first superstar of Bollywood. Veteran actress Mumtaz was seen with him as the lead actress.
2 lakh budget, 1 crore collection
‘Kismat’ was produced by Bombay Talkies and directed by director Gyan Mukherjee. The budget of this film is said to be only Rs 2 lakh and according to many media reports, after its release, people liked this film so much that it collected Rs 1 crore. The special thing was that ‘Kismat’ remained on the screens for 3 years after its release in theatres.
Such was the story of the film
The reason why Ashok Kumar’s film ‘Kismat’ became a blockbuster was that it was the first time in the history of Indian cinema that a different kind of theme was shown. The film was about the story of an unmarried girl getting pregnant. In this, the patriotic song Door Hato Duniyawalo Hindustan Hamara Hai also gained immense popularity. The situation was such that later ‘Kismat’ was also made in Tamil and Telugu.
Record not broken for 32 years
Due to the theme of ‘Kismat’, it had to face criticism, despite this it broke records at the box office. The popularity of the film can be gauged from the fact that it ran for 187 weeks in Roxy Cinema, Kolkata. This was a record which no film could break for 32 years.