Mithun’s Disco Dancer established India’s first 100 Cr Club in Bollywood

This milestone was initiated by Surakksha to make way for Disco Dancer

The first Indian film to cross ₹100 crore worldwide was the 1982 Bollywood film Disco Dancer, directed by Babbar Subhash written by Rahi Masoom Raza, and starring Mithun Chakraborty, with over ₹90 crore grossed at the Soviet box office

Once rejected by the selection committee of India’s premier Film Institute FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), during the first selection process, Mithun Chakraborty’s die-hard , go-getter instinct and preseverance made him the first actor to habituate a 100 crore Club in Bollywood with the most favoured and wide recognized movie Disco Dancer that brought him the worldwide adulation and fame. What is unknown to Indian viewers, fans and trade analysts is that his Movie Disco Dancer was the first movie in the Bollywood that earned this amount of 100 crores from the Indian and the Russian market. The 100 crore domestic box office became possible in part because of a steady rise in the ticket price, a tripling in the number of theatres and an increase in the number of prints of a film being released. The ticket rate in 1982 was average around 5 to 6 Rs, with that amount Disco Dancer had crossed 100 Crore, Imagine what would have been the collections at today’s multiplex rate and with more screens across India and Globally? So all the conversations happenings across the 100 crore club becomes hollow if the due for Disco Dancer is not credited appropriately.

Disco Dancer released in the year 1982 is the first Indian film to cross ₹100 crore worldwide, directed by Babbar Subhash (credited as B Subhash) was written by Rahi Masoom Raza, and starring Mithun Chakraborty, with over ₹90 crore grossed at the Soviet box office. Much years later followed by the other film to gross over ₹100 crore domestically in India was the Madhuri Dixit starrer 1994 released was Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994).The 100 Crore Club emerged more than a decade later, when the Aamir Khan starrer a 2008 released movie Ghajini became the first Indian film to net over ₹100 crore domestically in India, soon after which the term "100 Crore Club" was coined.

Giving the first collection of 100 crores globally Mithun gets the credit of being India’s first achiever . A 100 Crore Club is an unofficial designation by the Indian film trade and the media, related to Indian language films that have net ₹100 crore (1 billion Indian rupees) or more in India after deducting the entertainment tax. By 2012, the ₹100 crore (US$16 million) box office target had become "a new benchmark for a film to be declared a hit", and those affiliated with the 100 Crore Club were considered part of the "elite strata" within the Bollywood film community. It was succeeded by the 1000 Crore Club in 2017.

Beats Sensation Bhappi swayed and Dance Sensation Mithun rocked the nation

What was the speciality of this movie that tickled the audience and made it so big in the Soviet Union and in India? Character Jimmy is still a cult among various generations across Russia and other countries who were mesmerized by the movie. People say it was dance, emotion and a story of the self-made boy who struggles hard and makes it big because of him dancing talent. Prior to this Movie, Mithun already had more than 20 film releases with dance numbers with similar themes on distinct lines. The year 1980 was Mithun’s ascent, Mithun with is groovy steps sizzled into stardom entertaining and regaling the audience, people saw the new track changer, the best beat-dancer and the pelvic shaker which excited and kept the audience glued with his moves and karate kicks. The movie is more than thirty years old, speaking to few people associated with the movie and few insights the from the other have brought out this story, which begins here The story begins here

It all began with Ravikant Nagaich who had a penchant for giving spy thrillers and a special love for beats, in his earlier movie Farz too had a background score and the songs that went very much apt with the lead actor. The cinema was evolving and he had better plans for the audience, as the audience he was catering to in the end of 70’s were acquiring a western taste. The audience was evolving and most of the western culture had begun to creep in and the Indian were beginning to thirst for more of Western stuff. He was looking outlet to move from the spooky movie like Jadu Tona he had recently released. NRI’s and Gulf workers coming to India were bringing the western music cassettes to India and the played music beats were humming across and was gaining the evolving audience. Indian producers too wanted to try their hand in producing films with western inspired tunes and the Indians were relishing the taste and he had earlier experiment with western oriented desi-spy-flick, with an updated script in hand, he needed a complete actor who was ahead of the time and was an evolved dancer. Encouraged and confident of the script he was holding, he was in look out for the protagonist who could fulfil the chasm that could be a delightful viewing. Across the distant horizon, he spotted this actor who had all the ingredients that could be fulfilling. Surakshaa an apt doorway to Mithun’s stardom was  Ravikant’s  low budget fare later followed by Wardaat - again in the secret agent mode like Farz, Keemat and Raksha  needed a musician who could provide all the western nuances with Indian feel, by that time the beats of Bhappi music was soon drumming the hearts of the nation with his Aap Ki Khatir release and Ravikant’s preference was bowled by Bhappi’s talent as it fitted the best and was the much-needed antidote to give audience the new wave of spy flicks. Surakksha gave a new twist to the audience, something which was western with Indian nuances, music that was different, the actor that resembled Bruce lee-cum-John Travolta-cum-Elvis Presley-cum-James Bond-cum-Indian Dancer with western ballet this whole combination gave a gratifying package. Later followed on the similar lines films like Wardat, Sahhas , Disco Dancer, Laparwah, Karate that was tailor-made to Mithun’s image and gave the quirky entertaining musical kicks, tack stunts, stuffed with special effects that set the youngster into gyrating motion. 

Some scenes from the Disco Dancer movie

With the changing scenario, two well-wisher and friends of Mithun Chakraborty in the year-end of 1981 came together with a common objective of making a music-cum-dance- based movie, the forming of the team included B Subhash and  Bappi Lahiri to ride on the Disco wave with Mithun at its peak. Bhappi Lahiri his actually the man who marked the pinnacle of the disco era in Bollywood. Today this 1982 movie 'Disco Dancer' is known for its filmi disco songs composed by Bappi Lahiri and epic dance of Mithun Chakraborty. The entire album of this movie had super-hit disco tracks. 'Auva Auva - Koi Yahaan Nache', 'I Am a Disco Dancer', 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja', 'Yaad Aa Raha Hai', is still considered to be hit retro numbers of today. Bhappi’s die-hard penchant for beats created the anthemic songs, the title song ‘I am a Disco Dancer’ gave birth to the baby of the disco boom that stirred the blood of all dancers and this film made Mithun Chakraborty an overnight sensation, powered by Bappi Lahiri's foot-tapping music. And from Africa to the Soviet Union, the film was a global phenomenon. And for retro lovers, the moves still continue in parties and nightclubs. That’s Mithunda making India dance, forever.

B Subhash’s association begin during the shoot of his earlier film Taqdeer ka Badshah, an action movie, during the course he had assured the star that the next movie would be a dance-cum-musical movie which would be a sure-shot hit as dance was a western fad and Indian audience would love to see it in India by an Indian actor-cum-dancer, since then all the trio worked together giving series of hits in the whole of 1980’s. Recalls Subhash, (picked up from a couple of websites) still emotional about the wave he and Bhappi co-created with the team says “Mithun was always taking every step either a dance or a career step as a challenge, he tried various grooves for a shot to make it a perfect and delightful scene. We remember for a song on Krishna Dharti pe Aja Tu, Mithun was so enthralled about this song and wanted to make all of proud, he practised, rehearsed and danced as if he was possessed. The outcome was tantalizing and the movie was super-super hit, truly beyond of any imagination of a dancing wave that was to hit the generation”

Soviet Union's love for Mithun begin from release of Mrigayaa , the movie poster of Disco Dancer in Russian language , the movie grossed 90 crore through USSR screening

Celebrity fan-culture and Movie popularity is very ironical giving a complex definition to fannism, the Indian audience was beginning to like the western product, while Disco Dancer’s music was based on plagiarized western tracks and story had Indian nuances in order to impress the Indian audience. The character Jimmy with western dancing traits became a cult in Russia, Japan and other countries. However worldwide, Disco Dancer grossed a combined ₹100.68 crore (US$82.39 million) in India and the Soviet Union with major earning coming from the Russia market. This surpassed the ₹35 crore gross of Sholay (1975), making Disco Dancer the highest-grossing Indian film worldwide up until it was surpassed by the ₹135 crore gross of Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994). Prior to this movie Raj Kapoor Awaara was closer to the mark but Disco Dancer was the first Indian film to gross ₹100 crore worldwide.

In his career Surakksha and Disco Dancer are two movies that created milestones and gave Mithun the much required ticket to the bigger platform of the Bollywood stardom. This milestone was initiated by the Spy Thriller movie Surakksha to make way for Disco Dancer giving birth to new set of audience and fan followers at every beat of Bhappi and pelvic thrust of Mithun.  With Huge followers and success abound benefitted from Surakshaa to move to bankable commercial films and a quick jump to a promising platform and instant hike in signing fees to become one of most saleable star of the decade.