Betting Raja (Racha) Box Office Collection: Hit or Flop?
Betting Raja (Racha) was a blockbuster. The Telugu original grossed over ₹81 crore worldwide and earned its distributors a share of about ₹45 crore. It set a first-day record of ₹8.54 crore in AP/Nizam, ran for 50 days in 127 centres and 100 days in 38 centres.
Is Racha Hit or Flop?
Trade reports declared Racha a blockbuster after its 50-day run. Critics were mixed, but audiences turned up in big numbers for Ram Charan, the songs and the action. Coming after his 2010 flop Orange, it put him back on top.
Racha Movie Budget
The producers, Megaa Super Good Films, never announced an official budget for Racha, and Wikipedia and the trade reports we checked give no reliable figure. We don't publish guesses. What is on record:
- The audio rights alone sold to Aditya Music for about ₹1 crore, one of the highest prices for a Telugu album at the time.
- The film was shot across four countries (India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and China), which points to a big-budget production for 2012.
- An earlier version of the project, Merupu, was shelved partly because its budget was too high (see the making of Betting Raja).
The ₹45 crore distributor share is what made it a clear profit for its buyers.
Racha Day-wise and Week-wise Box Office Collection
| Period | Collection | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | ₹8.54 crore | AP/Nizam. A first-day record at the time, with about 90% occupancy |
| First weekend | ₹15 crore | AP/Nizam |
| First week | ₹26.92 crore | India: ₹24.42 Cr AP/Nizam + ₹2.5 Cr Karnataka |
| 4 weeks | ₹53.48 crore gross | Worldwide, all language versions. AP/Nizam share ₹37.48 Cr |
| Lifetime | ₹81 crore+ gross | Worldwide. Distributor share about ₹45 crore |
Region-wise Collection
| Nizam (first week) | ₹7.5 crore, part of the ₹24.42 crore AP/Nizam total |
|---|---|
| AP/Nizam (first week) | ₹24.42 crore |
| Karnataka | ₹2.5 crore in week one, ₹15 crore nett by late April 2012, from 120+ screens |
| Tamil Nadu | Released as Ragalai on 6 April 2012 and had a successful run |
| Kerala | Released as Raksha on 13 April 2012 |
Racha got a wide Karnataka release after the Competition Commission of India fined the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce for restricting dubbed and other-language films.
Theatrical Run
- 3 April 2012: CBFC gives the film a U/A certificate.
- 5 April 2012: Worldwide release in Telugu (postponed from March after Ram Charan's leg injury).
- 6 April 2012: Tamil version Ragalai releases.
- 13 April 2012: Malayalam version Raksha releases.
- May 2012: Completes 50 days in 127 direct centres (38 in Ceded, 16 in Nizam) and is declared a blockbuster.
- 13 July 2012: Completes 100 days in 38 centres in Andhra Pradesh.
- 22 February 2014: Hindi dubbed version Betting Raja releases.
Critic Reviews and Ratings
| The Times of India | 3/5: made for hardcore mega fans |
|---|---|
| Sify | "Paisa vasool" mass entertainer |
| The Hindu | Works for fans, though the revenge story feels familiar |
| Oneindia | Praised Sampath Nandi's screenplay |
| CNN-IBN | 2.5/5: technically strong, weak story |
| Rediff | 2/5: a predictable potboiler for the masses |
Audience scores: IMDb 4.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 36%. Our own verdict is 3/5. Read our full Betting Raja review.
Awards and Nominations
60th Filmfare Awards South
- Won: Best Choreography, Jani Master ("Dillaku Dillaku")
- Nominated: Best Film (R. B. Choudary)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Ram Charan)
- Nominated: Best Actress (Tamannaah Bhatia)
2nd SIIMA Awards
- Nominated: Best Actor (Ram Charan)
- Nominated: Best Actress (Tamannaah Bhatia)
- Nominated: Best Music Director (Mani Sharma)
- Nominated: Best Male Playback Singer (Hemachandra, "Oka Paadam")
- Nominated: Best Dance Choreographer (Shobi, "Vaana Vaana")
Where Racha Stands in Ram Charan's Career
Racha was Ram Charan's fourth film. After the huge success of Magadheera (2009) and the disappointment of Orange (2010), Racha proved he could carry a mass film without a big-name director. He followed it with Naayak (2013) and Yevadu (2014). See more in our list of Ram Charan movies like Betting Raja.