Why Dabangg is bigger than 3 Idiots

Indicine writer Abhishek Sharma on why the success of Dabangg was bigger than 3 Idiots.

The messiah of the masses, Salman Khan, has unleashed the first trailer of his home Production and arguably the most awaited movie of the year ‘Dabangg 2’. The phenomenal craze for Khan, who is on a dream run, with one blockbuster after another, has raised the expectations exponentially.

While we are all set to hear and read several predictions, reviews and forecasts for this movie from the so called ‘trade experts’, let us spare few moments to revisit the aura created by the original first film – Dabangg in 2010.

Right from Maine Pyaar Kiya, Salman has always been a huge star with a humungous fan following, but he never had an extended strong hold on the numero unospot. Dabangg changed it all. Released on 10th Sept 2010, the film created history by breaking the first day, first weekend and first week records of 3 Idiots which was released almost 9 months before. Although it fell well short of the final figure (202 c) which remains untouched even today, the unprecedented and unbelievable success of Dabangg cannot be ignored.

Below mentioned is a quick comparison with 3 Idiots, one that makes the unexpected success of Dabangg look much bigger.

• Before 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan’s was enjoying probably the best phase of his career with Ghajini (All Time Blockbuster), Taare Zameen Par (Super Hit) and Fanaa (Super Hit) whereas Salman’s was on a horrid run before Dabangg – Veer (Below Average), London Dreams (Flop) and Main Aur Mrs Khanna (Disaster).
• 3 Idiots was directed by Rajkumar Hirani, one of the most successful directors in the industry, with both commercial success and critical acclaim. The first two Munnabhai films were classic masterpieces. On the other hand Dabangg was directed by a rank newcomer Abhinav Kashyap.
• 3 Idiots is a dream production of the established and reputed Vidhu Vinod Chopra banner while Dabangg marked the debut of Arbaaz Khan Productions.
• Kareena Kapoor was a huge star and commands a fan following of her own, while the makers of Dabangg were taking a chance with debutant Sonakshi Sinha.
• 3 Idiots, understandably, got exceptional reviews from critics all over the globe and the word-of-mouth was outstanding. Dabangg was panned by most critics as a loud movie without a storyline.
• 3 Idiots was aimed at universal audience as the subject had a global appeal while Dabangg is a typical old fashioned single-screen targeted movie with a routine revenge saga and predictable storyline.

The Business of Indian Cinema has increased manifolds in the last 2 years since the release of Dabangg. But there are only two movies which have managed to cross it’s collections in India. And it goes without saying that both were Salman starrers.

Note: This article above is not to undermine or degrade the achievement of 3 Idiots, as it is one of the finest movies ever made. It deserves to be the biggest blockbuster of all time. The whole purpose of the comparison is just to showcase the magnitude of the stardom of a phenomenon known as ‘Salman Khan’, a man who carried Dabangg entirely on his shoulders with his charisma and made ‘Chulbul Pandey’ .

Article by Abhishek Sharma