India, June 12 -- For seven decades since recordkeeping on box office collections in India began, Hindi films have largely ruled the roost. The country's highest-grossing film was always from Bollywood in an unbroken chain from Kismet to Dangal. The dubbed versions of Tamil films began getting big numbers only if superstars like Kamal Haasan or Rajinikanth were in them. But, they were no match for Hindi films. All of it changed in 2017 when Baahubali scored big in the north, only for Shah Rukh Khan to wrestle back the crown six years later. But this false resurgence did not last long, and another 'regional' film beat Bollywood biggies to become the highest-grossing Hindi film.

Not Stree 2, Pathaan, or Chhaava, the highest-grossing Hindi ...