Small Films, Big Wins: How Underdog Movies Are Redefining Indian BO

At least two small-to-medium range movies have created a sensation at the Indian box office in recent weeks. The first one is Lokah: Chapter 1: Chandra from Malayalam. The second major surprise run of the season is Little Hearts from Telugu. The budget of the former is Rs 30 crore, as stated by the makers of the superhero movie themselves.

As for Little Hearts, its budget didn't cross even a tenth of Lokah's. While the two commercial blockbusters are separated by genres and their investment sizes, they are united by the ripple effects they have created.

Lokah is the first of a multi-film superhero series. It's expected to gross ten times (that is, Rs 300 crore) its budget by the end of its theatrical run, prompting its producer, Dulquer Salmaan, to make more ambitious sequels.

Little Hearts' traction is equally surprising. Within hours after FDFS on its release date (September 5th), it became evident that the movie headlined by a 'non-hero material' content creator (Mouli Tanuj's videos have clocked millions of views over the last few years) was outclassing Ghaati, an action crime drama headlined by Anushka Shetty - one of the biggest female superstars of the country. It's not like the movie has a novel storyline either. Shades of its storyline have been seen before. Why then is it working big-time? Looks like actor-director Rahul Ravindran has the answer. As per his review of Sai Marthand directorial on social media, Little Hearts exhibits a "high degree of skill, self-awareness and intuition". As such, it is "not a flaky entertainer that rides on a wave of pop culture and zeitgeist". So, if Tollywood filmmakers conclude that buddy comedy and classroom jokes are back in fashion, they would be drawing the wrong lessons from the success of Little Hearts.

And yes, these successes are not one-off. Last year, Premalu (Malayalam), made on a modest budget of Rs 3 crore with new actors, became a sleeper hit, grossing Rs 150 crore. Manjummel Boys, made on a budget of Rs 15 crore with no star cast, became one of Malayalam’s highest grossers.

Up there in the Mumbai film industry, Saiyaara's staggering success has been contrasted with Yash Raj Films' other major release of the year, War 2. While the latter flopped at the box office despite the presence of two superstars (Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR), Saiyaara made history by minting more than Rs 550 crore.

Mahavatar Narsimha, which was released on the same day as Hari Hara Veera Mallu, became a phenomenal hit. More importantly, it has brought into vogue the 3D animation format.