Prior to Samantha Ruth Prabhu unleashing her full potential in Nandini Reddy’s Maa Inti Bangaaram, Anushka Shetty and her 2009 film Arundhati were the gold standard for female-led Telugu cinema. At a time when heroes ruled the roost, the actor had carved a niche for herself with larger-than-life films and roles. Maa Inti Bangaaram has now broken the 17-year-old record.
Maa Inti Bangaaram is highest-grossing female-led Telugu film
Maa Inti Bangaaram has grossed over ₹83 crore worldwide and ₹50 crore net in India since its June 19 release. This makes it the highest-grossing female-led film in Telugu cinema history. Samantha’s production house, Tralala Moving Pictures, also confirmed the news, writing, “BANGAARAM writes history in GOLDEN LETTERS. #MaaIntiBangaaram becomes the HIGHEST GROSSING FEMALE-LED FILM EVER in Telugu cinema.” Fans couldn’t be prouder of Samantha, leaving comments calling her ‘queen’ and a ‘superstar’.
The 17-year-old record it beat
Before Maa Inti Bangaaram took the mantle, Kodi Ramakrishna’s Anushka and Sonu Sood-starrer Arundhati held the record. The film had grossed over ₹70 crore worldwide back then, an unheard-of amount for a female-led movie. The film held strong for all these years until Maa Inti Bangaaram broke the record.
While one could argue that Nag Ashwin’s 2018 film Mahanati broke that record when it made over ₹75 crore, Keerthy Suresh was supported by Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha, Vijay Deverakonda and a huge ensemble cast in it. Gunasekhar’s 2015 film Rudhramadevi collected over ₹86 crore worldwide. However, this film, too, had Anushka, supported by Allu Arjun and Rana Daggubati.
Lokah remains untouchable
Dominic Arun’s Malayalam hit Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra is still the highest-grossing female-led film in South India. Starring Kalyani Priyadarshan and Naslen, the film, produced by Dulquer, grossed over ₹300 crore worldwide. In interviews, the film’s cast and crew admitted they were surprised by how much money it made. In fact, Dulquer even said he was prepared to lose money to set up the superhero universe.
About Maa Inti Bangaaram
Maa Inti Bangaaram is an action comedy drama film directed by Nandini Reddy and produced by Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Raj Nidimoru, and Himank Reddy Duvvuru under Tralala Moving Pictures. The film stars Samantha in the lead, alongside Gulshan Devaiah, Diganth Manchale, Sreemukhi, Manjusha Mukkavilli, Gautami, and others. The film opened to good reviews and positive word-of-mouth. Samantha shot portions of the film while pregnant, which was revealed after the film’s release.