Not Sholay or Mughal-e-Azam, this was most expensive film made after independence, was country's first pan-India film, made for Rs 30 lakh, it earned Rs..., movie was..

Today, every second film in Indian cinema is becoming a pan-India film. From South Cinema to Bollywood, the number of pan-India films has increased in the last few years, especially after the release of Baahubali. After KGF, Pushpa, and RRR, many pan-India films have created history by earning astronomical amounts at the box office. Since then, films of big superstars have all been released in multiple languages across India. But, do you know that 77 years ago, a pan-India film was made, which created a stir at the box office.

What was India's first pan-India film?

Made in 1948 on a modest budget of Rs 30 lakh, this film earned a lot of money at the box office. In those days, films were not dubbed, but the makers' dream was to release this particular film across India. The dream did come true as after the film was made, it was released in multiple languages and became this country's first pan-India film. We are talking about the Kollywood film Chandralekha, which was directed by S.S. Vasan. The distributor of this film was Tarachand Barjatya, the founder of Hindi film production house Rajshri Productions, and he did the Hindi dubbing of this film.

Chandralekha broke the record of Ashok Kumar's film Kismat

Not only was this film dubbed, but many scenes were re-shot. Huge sets and big war scenes were seen in the film. Chandralekha was loved in both Tamil and Hindi versions. Made on a budget of Rs 30 lakh, Chandralekha earned a whopping Rs 4 crore. It broke the record of Ashok Kumar's film Kismat (1943 - the first film to earn Rs 1 crore). Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha, and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.

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