Melbourne: After collecting Rs 500 crore at the Indian box office, Aamir Khan-starrer 'Dhoom 3' has now become the highest grossing foreign film of 2013 in Australia and emerged as the first Bollywood film to win the award.
The award was recently received by the film distributing Company Mind Blowing Films at the 69th Australian International Movie Convention which hosted the annual Box Office Achievement Awards in Queensland.
The title was accepted by Mind Blowing Films director Mitu Bhowmick Lange and her partner John Molloy. Lange said that film was the biggest release of an Indian movie which had opened in over 30 screens across the country and ran for more than a month.
Stating that Bollywood audience was growing very steadily Down Under, Lange said, "To win the highest grossing foreign film award this year is the perfect testament to that growth.
"The best part is that its not only Indians but film lovers from various other communities and nationalities who are beginning to enjoy our films, thanks to the widespread exposure through the Indian Film Festival and having subtitled films playing at most major mainstream cinemas."
However, she expressed her concern over the issue of piracy which she said was denting the film industry.
"Piracy is a on-going and losing battle than the whole industry is fighting. In Australia alone, the film industry loses over a billion dollars in revenue to piracy - whether its illegal downloads , DVDs.
"For the Indian film industry its even more. And the sad part is now people don't even view it as illegal or as stealing."
On receiving the new accolade for Aamir Khan-starrer 'Dhoom 3', Lange said, "It is an honour and absolute delight to receive this award. This is the first time that an Indian film has won this prestigious award which makes it even more special."
Thanking the Australian audience, the film director Vijay Krishna Acharya said, "The response and success of the film is extremely gratifying and humbling. I'd like to thank the Australian audience who made this possible. And I shall certainly be filming in your beautiful and unique country for one of my next ventures."
Avatar Panesar, Vice President of international operation Yashraj Films, mentioned the team's journey of more than 10 years since they entered Australian Film Market while thanking HOYTS and Mind Blowing Films for their contribution towards this extraordinary success.
In recent years, the movies that have won the Highest Grossing Foreign Language Film category are- 'The Untouchables' (2013), 'The Women On The 6thFloor' (2012) , 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' (2011), 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' (2010) and Coco Avant Chanel (2009).
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