In cinema, the terms hit, superhit, and blockbuster are tossed around casually. But industry insiders rely on clear metrics: a film that doubles its cost is a superhit, and anything beyond moves into blockbuster territory. Rarely does a movie cross five times its budget. Yet, one film defied every norm — earning more than 100 times its cost and running in theatres for over a year. That phenomenon was Mungaru Male, India’s most profitable film.
Released in 2006, Yograj Bhatt’s romantic drama, starring Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi, and veteran Anant Nag, was made on a modest budget of just ₹70 lakh. Against all odds, the film struck a chord with audiences, turning into a sleeper hit. It became the first Kannada film to gross over ₹50 crore, eventually collecting a staggering ₹75 crore worldwide — ₹57 crore of it from Karnataka alone.
Mungaru Male also set multiple records: the first film to complete a year in a multiplex, running for 460 days at PVR Bangalore, and the highest-grossing Kannada film of its time.
The film’s success catapulted Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi into stardom, making them household names for years to follow. Yet, it brought challenges too — the producer E. Krishna faced an Income Tax raid after authorities claimed the movie had earned ₹67.5 crore net.
Its legacy endured for over a decade until KGF Chapter 1 shattered its records. Remade in multiple languages and followed by a sequel in 2016, Mungaru Male still enjoys cult status, bolstered by TV reruns and OTT streaming.