Aamir Khan thriller breaks Bollywood records

Dhoom 3 is the first Indian film to cross the $80 million mark in gross revenues around the world.

MUMBAI: Bollywood action thriller Dhoom 3, starring Aamir Khan, has smashed box office records to become the highest grossing Indian film of all time, industry experts said on Tuesday.

The third film in the Dhoom franchise, which has been likened to Hollywood's Fast and Furious, is the first Indian film to cross the $80 million mark in gross revenues around the world, according to its production house Yash Raj Films.

The group said late Monday that the cop caper had grossed 5.01 billion rupees, and trade experts confirmed it had surpassed the previous highest-grossing Bollywood film, a title recently clinched by Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express.

"Dhoom 3 is the number one Bollywood film worldwide," said Vajir Singh, editor of Box Office India.

Singh attributed the success of the Dhoom 3 partly to the "star appeal" of Aamir Khan, whose earlier 2010 film 3 Idiots held the highest-grossing record for more than three years.

Dhoom 3, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Katrina Kaif, is set largely in Chicago and tells the story of an Indian cop, his sidekick and their latest adversary, an illusionist played by Aamir.

"It's huge and this record won't be easy to break anytime soon," said trade analyst Komal Nahta.

The film released on December 20 and has been shown at more than 4,400 screens in India and 750 screens abroad.