Rashmika: The ₹4,000 Crore Box Office Queen?

Couple of years ago, Rashmika Mandanna was just another promising actress who made inroads into Tollywood like many other imports from the neighbouring Kannada state. And with the astonishing social media fame she amassed and the choice of commercial cinema she has picked, the actress is now being hailed as the ₹4000 crore box office queen, while her poor performance in the “Cocktail 2” movie is being slammed on the other side.

While Pushpa gave Rashmika pan-India recognition, Pushpa 2 took her into an entirely different league. As the film collected close to ₹1,900 crore worldwide, Rashmika became part of one of the biggest Indian blockbusters ever made. Add Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava, Vijay's Varisu, Mahesh Babu's Sarileru Neekevvaru and several other successful films; all those movies have combined to make her part of a ₹4000 crores box office bonanza. With Cocktail 2 also making ₹75+ crores in the first weekend, fans are hailing her as the reigning queen.

But then, movie buffs say that Rashmika never impressed big time with her performance in any of those movies, and luck has played its part for her. They say that all those movies ran because of the other merits like the director, hero’s image, and hero’s performance alongside the content, but not just Rashmika alone. They say that those films click even if Rashmika is not there in those roles.

But luck alone doesn't explain why filmmakers across Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil industries continue to line up for her dates. She currently has the likes of Ranabali, Mysaa and other biggies lined up, while she’s rumoured to be doing Allu Arjun’s Raaka as well. Surely she’s one actress who commands such attention and box office rewards at the moment.