Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana has achieved a fifth century at the Indian box office with Diwali blockbuster Thamma, which has crossed the Rs 100-crore ($11.3 million) mark and is on track to become the highest-grossing original film in the Madhok horror-comedy world.
Directed by Aditya Sarpoddar and produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik, the supernatural horror-comedy stars Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Paresh Rawal in the fifth installment of the expanding universe.
The film tells the story of Alok Goyal, a journalist who, after meeting a mysterious woman, transforms into a vampiric creature called Betal and has to save humanity from an ancient evil’s bloodlust.
For a long time, the 100 million rupee figure has been considered the benchmark for box office revenue in India. “Thamma” has so far collected 123 million rupees ($13.9 million) and joins Khurrana’s list of club hits of the century. These include ‘Dream Girl’ ($22.6 million), ‘Dream Girl 2’ ($15.8 million), ‘Badhaai Ho’ ($25 million) and ‘Bala’ ($19.4 million).
Khurrana has launched several series such as ‘Dream Girl’, ‘Badhaai Ho’, ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdaan’, ‘Thamma’ and ‘Anda Dhun’, the latter of which had a sequel teased at its climax.
“Public recognition is the greatest recognition for an artist,” Kullana told Variety. “The Madoc Horror Comedy Universe has had some amazing hits, and as an original film, Tamma had the highest opening of any first film in the MHCU. It’s also on track to become the highest-grossing original film in the MHCU, which is another huge accomplishment. So I’m very happy and grateful to our viewers for this love.”
The supernatural comedy is Khurrana’s first major release in the Diwali holiday window and will be his first post-pandemic box office hit in two centuries since Dream Girl 2.
“I always wanted to make a blockbuster film that would be released at festivals and entertain all of India,” Khurrana said. “‘Tamma’ has made all my dreams as an entertainer come true.”
The actor expressed particular satisfaction that “Tamma” has broadened its demographic appeal beyond its usual audience base.
“The best thing was that the kids liked the film. My previous films were for an adult audience, but with ‘Thamma’, the kids really enjoyed it. I’m very happy with this,” he said. “Every year during Diwali, we used to go to the theaters to watch films with big stars. I always hoped that my films would also be released during this long holiday and people would enjoy them. This time, it means a lot to me to see the audience going to watch my films with their entire families and having a good time.”
