India's most expensive films

Since big budget is the key for success, here's a look at some Indian films whose budgets have touched the sky.

Tamil mega star Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer bilingual film Endhiran is being touted as the costliest film of India with a budget of Rs 150 crore.

The film, which will be released this September in Tamil and Hindi (Robot), has been in the making for over two years and has been shot in exotic locations like Vienna in Austria, Machu Picchu in Peru, US and Brazil.

Karan Johar's SRK-Kajol starrer My Name is Khan was picked up by Fox studios for Rs 100 crores, more than double the budget of the film. The film though was made at a budget of Rs 40 crore.

Hrithik Roshan's home production Kites was made with a budget of Rs 60 crore and was the most expensive film from the Roshan banner. The film, which had Latin beauty Barbara Mori and Kangna Ranaut along with Hrithik bombed at the box office.

Year 2008 saw the release of Abihshek, Priyanka starrer Drona made at a lavish budget of Rs 79 crore. Reports are that director Goldie Behl spent Rs 22 crore for an imaginary den for the villain. But despite all this the film was a damp squib at the box office.

Another film from Dharma Productions which had Shah Rukh, Abhishek, Amitabh and Rani Mukherjee playing the lead was Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. The movie was made at the budget of Rs 74 crores, but it failed to create any buzz at the box office.

Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam had overshot its Rs 1.3 billion budget. Actor Jackie Chan's visit to Chennai on a chartered flight had cost its producer Rs 100 million and added to the total cost that had gone beyond Rs 1.4 billion.

Aamir Khan's Ghajini was made at a budget of Rs 65 crore. But it earned over Rs 180 crore at the box-office.

Ashutosjh Gowariker's magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar based on Mughal emperor Akbar's life and his relationship with his Hindu wife Jodhaabai costed about Rs 50 crore. The film which had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan had elaborate sets and huge war scenes which actually upped the budget.

Remember Harman Baweja's launch vehicle Love Story 2050? Well it was the most expensive films to be made in 2009. The movie, that was packed with blue sets, special effects, cost Harman's dad a whopping Rs 80 crore.

Shah Rhkh Khan's home production Om Shanti Om, directed by his choregorapher friend Farah Khan was made at Rs 45 crore. With King Khan you can always expect something big. It seems the humungous sets and post production publicity led to the steep rise in film's budget.

Another Rajinikanth film that has made to the most expensive league is his 2007 superhit Sivaji- The Boss. According to the industry estimates, it was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. The film was made with a budget of about Rs 60 crore which included Rajinikanth's salary. (Text: Wikepedia)

Akshay Kumar's 2008 hit Singh is Kinng was also made at Rs 60 crore. The film was shot extensively in Egypt and Sydney.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2002) based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel Devdas had Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai in leading roles. At the time of its release, Devdas was the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced, with a reported budget of Rs 53 crore. The film was released in six alternative language versions: English, French, German, Mandarin, Thai, and Punjabi. (Text: Wikepedia)

Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor's launchpad Saawariya directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali was made at Rs 40 crore.

Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and Lara Dutta starrer underwater thriller Blue was made at a whopping Rs 126 crores and it was shot extensivley in the Bahamas. Reports were that Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue, who flew down to India for the shoot, was paid $1 million for one song. That made Kylie Minogue the most expensive international star to make an appearance in a Hindi film. The song Chiggy Wiggy was a great hit but the film failed to create any buzz at the box office.

Bollywood's current leading lady Priyanka Chopra who made her debut opposite Sunny Deol in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy was also the most expensive film of its time. This Anil Sharma directed film cost about Rs 55 crore.

Karan Johar directed Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham had a gamut of big stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. The film was majorly shot in the US and UK, apart from India. It was made at Rs 42 crore.

Aamir Khan's home production Mangal Pandey- The Rising released in 2005 was made at a whopping Rs 60 crore.

Produced by Boney Kapoor Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was one of India's most expensive films in 1993. The film starring Anil Kapoor and Sridevi was also one of the biggest commercial disasters.

The Burning Train starring Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi, Dharmendra and Danny Denzongapa was released in 1980. At that time Director Ravi Chopra invested a lot of money in it but the film failed to impress the audience back home. The movie was seen as being ahead of its time.

Director K Asif's magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam a 1960 Indian epic film took nine years and Rs 10.5 million to finish. The film broke box office records in India when released and also held the record for the highest grossing film ever until the 1975 film Sholay broke its record. (Text: Wikepedia)