Kiccha Sudeepa's 'Hebbuli' was 1st Kannada film to gross ₹100 crores at the box office?

Kannada film actor Kiccha Sudeepa is hands down one of the most sought-after actors in Sandalwood till date, ever since he kick-started his career as an actor back in 1997. Throughout his illustrious career in the Kannada film industry spanning over two decades, Sudeepa has starred in over 40 Kannada films. However, did you know that the 47-year-old's 2017 film Hebbuli was the first-ever Kannada film to cross the 100-crore mark at the box office?

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Before KGF, Sudeepa's Hebbuli crossed Rs 100 crores at the box office first

The Kiccha Sudeepa starrer Hebbuli is an action film that was helmed by prolific Sandalwood director-cinematographer S. Krishna. Alongside Sudeepa, the cast of the 2017 film boasted of Amala Paul V. Ravichandran, P. Ravi Shankar, Kabir Duhan Singh and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles. The S. Krishna directorial had hit the silver screens on February 23, 2017, and went on to enjoy a long run of 75 days at the box office. 

Hebbuli marked the debut of leading lady Amala Paul in the Kannada film industry and went on to gross over a whopping ₹100 crores at the box office. Back in the days, trade analyst Ramesh Bala had broken the news first on Twitter to congratulate Amala on  entering the 100-crore club with her debut film itself. Check out Bala's tweet below:

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Although there are several reports by various online portals that claim that the Prashanth Neel directorial KGF: Chapter 1 is the first-ever highest-grossing Kannada film, it's actually Hebbuli that achieved the milestone first. According to IMDb as well, Hebbuli is the first Kannada film to gross over ₹100 crores. For the unversed, the Kiccha Sudeepa film had released back in 2017 whereas the blockbuster period-action film KGF: Chapter 1 released a year later, in 2018. 

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Hebbuli movie trivia and plot

According to IMDb, Hebbuli marked the second collaboration of Kiccha Sudeep and  V. Ravichandran after 2014's Maanikya. The story of Hebbuli revolved around Ram (Sudeepa) who decides to investigate the reason behind his brother's sudden death and ends up in a tiff with the corrupt system. Thus, he embarks on a journey to find out the truth and has to protect his family by taking over the antagonists during his pursuit of truth.

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DISCLAIMER: The above information is sourced from various websites/ media reports. The website does not guarantee a 100% accuracy of the figures.