Khosla Ka Ghosla (September 22, 2006)
The movie that marked the directorial debut
of Dibakar Banerjee was a tongue-in-cheek comedy film revolving around a middle-class
family of Delhi that falls in the trap of land mafias and emerges out winning.
The movie had amazing performances by Boman Irani, Anupam Kher, Parveen Dabas,
Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Tara Sharma and the late Navin Nischol.
Made at a budget of less than Rs 3 crore,
the movie managed to collect approximately Rs 7.5 crore.
Image from IMP Awards
Tere Bin Laden (July 16, 2010)
The movie marked the debut of Ali Zafar, who also became the first Pakistani male to debut in a lead role in a Bollywood movie. Tere Bin Laden was made at a shoestring budget of approximately Rs 6 crore. The quirky humour and out of the box story made it a hit among the masses. It collected Rs 15 crores at the box office. The film was directed by Abhishek Sharma and had Pradhuman Singh, Piyush Mishra and acting guru Barry John in supporting roles.
Image from Santa-Banta
Peepli Live (August 13, 2010)
The story that highlighted the plight of India’s labour class and the growing need of sensationalism in media was made at a mere budget of Rs 10 crore. However, the film hit the right chord in the hearts of the audience that appreciated the rawness and humoristic approach to the daily-life problems. The film collected Rs 29 crore at the box office. It was also India's official entry for the 83rd Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category; however, the movie didn’t get nominated there. The film starred Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav and Naseeruddin Shah, and also put the actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the limelight.
Image from IMP Awards
Paan Singh Tomar (October 31, 2010)
The biopic of Indian soldier and rebel Paan Singh Tomar, this movie saw the collaboration of director Tigmanshu Dhulia and actor Irrfan after their first movie Haasil. Made at a humble budget of Rs 8 crore, the movie managed to collect more than Rs 38 crore at the box office. The movie also had Mahi Gill, Vipin Sharma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in side roles.
Image from IMP Awards
Phas Gaye Re Obama (December 3, 2010)
The national award winning director Subhash Kapoor hit gold with this film when the satire comedy that was made at a minimal budget of Rs 6 crore made a huge collection of Rs 19 crore and was declared a super hit. The movie was a comical take on the global recession and the impacts it had on India. It saw some memorable performances by Sanjai Mishra, Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Manu Rishi Chadha and Amol Gupte.
Image from IMP Awards
No One Killed Jessica (7 January 2011)
The film that shook the whole nation was inspired by the murder of model Jessical Lal and the court proceedings that followed. The movie was directed by Rajkumar Gupta and had Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in the main roles. The budget of the movie was Rs 9 crore and it earned Rs 49 crore as the collections. The name of the movie was inspired from the headline of the leading daily Times of India, after the convict Manu Sharma was once freed in lack of proper evidence.
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Pyaar Ka Punchnama (May 20, 2011)
A novel take on modern-day relationships, Pyaar Ka Punchnama was directed by Luv Ranjan and had Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha, Divyendu Sharma and Ishita Sharma and Rayo Bakhirta and Sonalli Sehgall as three urban couples. The movie was made for Rs 7 crore and earned Rs 12 crore at the box office. It has, since then, achieved cult status among Indian youth.
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Kahaani (March 9, 2012)
The movie that established Vidya Balan as the only actress who can manage to make a movie successful without an actor, Kahaani was made at a tight budget of Rs 8 crore, and managed to make a whopping Rs 78 crore at the box office. Directed by Sujay Ghosh, the movie also had Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indraneil Sengupta, Saswata Chatterjee and Darshan Zariwala in prominent roles.
Image from Review The Movie
Vicky Donor (April 20, 2012)
The movie that changed the way Bollywood looks at small-budget films, Vicky Donor was directed by Shoojit Sircar and had Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Annu Kapoor and Dolly Ahluwalia in main roles. Lacking a star cast, this movie dealt with the sensitive issue of sperm donation and was made for Rs 5 crore. However, the movie raked in the moolah and managed to be a critical and commercial success owing to its earnings of more than Rs 65 crore.
Image from Hindi Film News
The Lunchbox (September 20, 2013)
Directed by debutante Ritesh Batra, The Lunchbox had Irrfan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nakul Vaid and Lillette Dubey playing the cast while Bharati Achrekar lent her voice for a character that was never shown in the movie. Made for Rs 10 crore, The Lunchbox made Rs 20 crore at the box office and was declared a hit. It was also thought of as India’s prospective entry for the Academy Awards but was not finalised. The film is remembered for a unique story and amazing performances by the leading pair.
Image from Bollyspice