Hindi Film · 1981 · Box Office Collection

Silsila

Hit
Director Yash Chopra  ·  Cast Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Jaya Bhaduri  ·  Released 29 May 1981
India Nett
₹5.0 Cr
After GST
Overseas
₹₹0.8 Cr
International gross
Budget
₹1.5 Cr
Production cost
Boxoffy VerdictHit

Silsila earned a Hit verdict — comfortably profitable, with ₹5 Cr India nett against a reported budget of ₹1.5 Cr, representing a 333% return on production cost. A Hit at the Indian box office means the film recovered its production and distribution costs and returned profit to all stakeholders. While not a record-breaker, the Hit verdict confirms genuine audience approval and successful commercial execution across its theatrical run.

Boxoffy Read
Silsila's commercial performance was considered a disappointment at the time, which is fascinating given that it has been watched and discussed continuously for over four decades. The off-screen relationship between Bachchan, Rekha and Jaya Bhaduri transformed what would have been a conventional love triangle into something audiences experienced as documentary — the sensation that the film was true even if it never confirmed it. Yash Chopra's visual language for romantic yearning, all mustard fields and Swiss mountains, is at its most precise here.
Financial AnalysisBox Office vs Budget

Silsila was reportedly made on a budget of ₹1.5 Cr. Against that investment, the film collected ₹5 Cr India nett — a 3.3x multiple on production cost and a 333% return on the reported budget.

Break-even at the Indian box office typically requires approximately 1.5x the production budget once prints, advertising and distribution costs are factored in — placing the break-even threshold for Silsila at roughly ₹2 Cr India nett. The film cleared this threshold, resulting in the Hit verdict.

₹0 Break-even ~₹2 Cr ₹5 Cr collected
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From BoxoffyRelated Analysis

Source: Box Office India (canonical India nett) · Sacnilk (day-wise tracking) · Pinkvilla (cross-reference). All figures are estimates based on publicly available trade data. India nett represents collections after GST extraction. Figures for pre-1990 films are nominal era-contemporary collections and are not inflation-adjusted — ₹1 Cr in 1975 represents substantially greater value in today's currency. Last updated 2026-04-16. © 2026 Boxoffy.com

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Boxoffy.com is an independent box office intelligence platform. All figures are estimates based on publicly available trade data from Box Office India, Sacnilk and Pinkvilla. Boxoffy is not affiliated with any production house, studio or distributor. © 2026 Boxoffy.com