As The Kashmir Files nears the numero uno position, here’s a list of the top 10 Bollywood box office grossers-Entertainment News , Firstpost

Stills from the trailer of The Kashmir Files

With Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files breaking records the world over — at the moment its collections are next to only SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2 — it is time to examine the 10 biggest box office grossers of Bollywood.

Please note we are talking about hard cash. Films like Sholay, Mughal-e-Azam, Bobby, and Mother India broke records during their times, but did not show the collections of some contemporary films that came during times of inflation, recession, and economic disintegration to create havoc at the turnstiles.

1. Baahubali  2: The Conclusion (2017): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 8,01,61,20,000: Far more  elaborately staged than the first Baahubali film, Part 2 was roomier and more replete with bombastic rhetorics than the first part, which was more innocent. The sequel was bigger, though not necessarily better. Fancier but definitely not more soulful. The influence of the Amar Chitra Katha comics was palpable in every frame.
2. Dangal (2016): Estimated Worldwide Collection: Rs 7,02,47,50,000: Potbellied paternal bullying was transmuted into something far more productive and  gentle. Aamir Khan as the father of future wrestling champ Babita Pogat was sincere, driven, and dynamic. If I did not know any better, I would say Will Smith  in King Richard is doing exactly what Khan did in Dangal.
3. PK (2014): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 6,16,03,62,500: A thoroughly reprehensible film that questioned the ritualistic aspects of Hinduism, and not in a nice way. The tone was nastily sardonic. I wondered how Khan got away with what would clearly be regarded as sacrilegious in present-day politics.
4. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 6,03,99,40,000: Salman Khan’s best performance since Tere Naam. Or should I say ONLY performance barring Sultan? As a Hanuman bhakt who becomes a reluctant foster-father to a lost Pakistani girl, Salman was heartbreaking in his sincerity.  Kabir Khan directed this Indo-Pak amity epic with tasteful subtexts. But what was Kareena Kapoor Khan doing in it?
5. Sanju (2018): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 5,78,44,62,500: The most ill-deserved entry in the  Top 10 grossers’ list, Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic was a joke. Conveniently glossing over TADA…sorry, tedious details, this was a Dutt primer for morons, with Ranbir Kapoor trying to have fun with Dutt  while Sonam Kapoor played an amalgamation of all the women Dutt dated. Ambitious to the point of insanity.
6. Sultan (2016): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs  5,77,28,75,000: This  was Salman Khan’s chance to do a Robert de Niro from Raging Bull [1980], and he did not fail the film. Under director Ali Abbas Zafar’s  watchful gaze, Salman went from blasé star to dedicated actor. This one deserves a pride of place in the Top 10.
7. Tiger Zinda Hai (2017): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 5,65,10,20,000: Tiger Zinda Hai was Salman’s third film in the Top 10 grossers, and the least impressive of  the trio. Playing a RAW agent codenamed Tiger, he sleepwalks from one global adventure to the next, perking up only when Katrina Kaif is around. Salman’s gaze melts each time she walks into the frame. Kya yehi pyar hai?
8. Padmaavat (2018): Estimated Worldwide Collection Rs 5,45,92,90,000: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s  controversial epic sees Deepika Padukone in the role of her lifetime. Looking every inch the queen, she aces  the aristocratic aura with a fiery warrior’s will after her husband Shahid Kapoor is taken hostage by the evil  Ranveer Singh. The conflict is dramatic and devastating. Only Bhansali could pull this off.
9. Dhoom 3 (2013): Estimated Worldwide Collections Rs 5,24,37,60,000: Two Aamir Khans at the price of one. I cannot remember anything else from this film except Aamir and his two chhota avatars, played  precociously by Siddharth Nigam. This time, the Dhoom franchise tried to be dark and funny at the same  time. Ambition is good. Too much of it is not.
10. War (2019): Estimated Worldwide Collections: Rs 4,42,41,80,000: War  is the least deserving of the Top  10 grossers. It is poorly directed, and Hrithik Roshan goes way beyond the top in trying to outscore Tiger Shroff. Considering how beautifully they dance, one expected more of it from both the actors. Not John Travolta and Michael Jackson, this was James Bond and Ethan Hunt.

All Box office figures courtesy Box office India.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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