Which was India's costliest film of 90s and how it ended in huge losses

Hyderabad: The Indian film industry is one of the biggest in the world. Every year, hundreds of movies are made in many languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and more. Today, producers are spending huge amounts of money on films, and many movies are breaking box office records and earning crores in profits. But not all big-budget films become hits. Some crash badly and leave the makers in huge losses. One such shocking example is the 1991 film Shanti Kranti.

A Dream to Make India’s First Pan-India Film

In 1988, Kannada actor and director V Ravichandran started a dream project – a film that would connect with all of India. He made Shanti Kranti in four languages: Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. He played the hero in the Kannada version. 

Rajinikanth acted in the Tamil and Hindi versions, and Nagarjuna starred in the Telugu one. Juhi Chawla, Khushbu, and Anant Nag were also part of all versions. The movie was made on a massive budget of Rs. 10 crore rupees – the highest at that time.

A Huge Disaster Despite Big Stars

Even with big stars and a grand release, the movie failed badly. It earned only Rs. 8 crore rupees at the box office. The audience didn’t connect with the story, and critics gave poor reviews. The production cost went out of control, and the money spent was never recovered.

Ravichandran had put his entire savings into the film. He even borrowed land and built expensive sets. After the failure, he was left bankrupt and had to do small-budget films and remakes to survive.

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