India Rang De Basanti returned 5.2× its production cost, earning $11.5M against a $2.2M budget — one of the highest-return India films in our catalog.
Synopsis
रंग दे बसंती
“A Generation Awakens”
After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. Although the group is largely apolitical, the tragic death of a friend owing to local government corruption awakens their patriotism. Inspired by the freedom fighters they represent in the film, the friends collectively decide to avenge the killing.
The 2005–2007 India Window
157 India films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Rang De Basanti sits at position #22.
Other Titles From UTV Motion Pictures
The 2000s India Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 2000s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Rang De Basanti premiered. 454 total titles in this decade from India.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 37m runtime, production spent $14K per minute on screen and earned $73K per minute back.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #426 of 1,983 India films indexed here (79th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.7 points above the India average of 6.4/10.
Among India Comedy productions specifically: #111 of 648 (top 17%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | India |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Hindi |
| Spoken Languages | English, Hindi, Punjabi |
| Production Companies | UTV Motion Pictures, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures |
| Runtime | 2h 37m |
| Release Date | January 26, 2006 |
| IMDb | tt0405508 |