Rajkummar Rao ka raaj chal raha hai box-office par filhaal (The reign of Rajkummar Rao continues at the box office right now). It isn’t a novel occurrence by any means where you have an actor who is in a purple patch having back-to-back successful films and we jump the gun to term him/her the next superstar. But there are always a few stories that stand out more than others and reinvigorate your belief in the loosely used phrase, ‘content is king’. We have seen plenty of instances where thankfully, the viewers have accepted good content with open arms but seldom have we seen instances that it has happened in a way that is unprecedented and unheard of.
A Twofold Boon in Dire Times
2024 was turning out to be a forgettable year for the Hindi film industry in the first four months where except for Fighter (which was also said to have underperformed), there weren’t enough successful films to take note of apart from a couple of flashes like Madgaon Express and Crew. And it doesn’t help that April witnessed the worst of it, where two supposedly tentpole films – Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan having a big Eid clash bombed miserably at the box office and a critically acclaimed film like Do Aur Do Pyaar also wasn’t able to get people coming to theatres. The IPL had begun and courtesy that blended with the Lok Sabha Elections – almost all filmmakers took frantic calls and postponed their respective releases in the fear of people not even thinking about coming to theatres.
Enter Rajkummar Rao and the producers of his two films – Srikanth and Mr. & Mrs. Mahi. A May that was dreaded by everyone leading them to move away had a twofold boon for Rao with not one but two films having theatrical releases. It was a risk – a risk that could have backfired but it didn’t.
Especially with a film like Srikanth, an array of people believed that the film was one of the rare instances that did not just utilise Rao’s widely-known acting chops and prowess along with a story that resonates with people. Srikanth turned out to be a sleeper success and in a dire time when nothing was working out, the film garnered over 50 crores domestically. May wasn’t done and right before we rung in June, Rao had another release, this time with Janvhi Kapoor in the form of the film, Mr. & Mrs. Mahi. A film that also relied heavily on its content, the film did not create a storm at the box office but was still a profitable venture garnering just over 30 crores.
The Stree 2 Storm & Looking Ahead
Riding high on two successful films, it was obvious that Rao’s next, sequel to one of the most-loved films, Stree would arrive and will definitely bring in big money. What a few did not anticipate was that Stree 2 would wreak absolute havoc at the box office in ways that seldom anyone anticipated. The film is set to cross 500 cr just as the third-weekend ends and is trending better than even mega films like Animal, Jawan and Gadar 2 from 2023. These numbers are a mere indicator of how the Stree world has connected with the viewers but it is no secret that Rao was one of the key reasons why this film worked, how it worked. Doing most of the heavy lifting, Rao reprised his immensely loved role of Vicky and wowed the critics and fans alike.
Looking ahead, things are only looking onwards and upwards for Rajkummar Rao. After a dismal time at the box office in the past two to three years, Rao has now solidified himself as one of the forces to be reckoned with. On the one hand, he has the film, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video with current sensation, Triptii Dimri, and he recently announced his entry into the action and gangster genre with the film, Maalik.
Versatility, variety and now, victorious at the box office, Rajkummar Rao ka raj jald khatam nahi hoga.
