9-Year-Old Flop Jaya Janaki Nayaka Becomes World's Most Watched Film With 1 Billion Views

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A film that struggled at the box office nine years ago has just rewritten the record books online. Jaya Janaki Nayaka, the 2017 Telugu action drama starring Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas and Rakul Preet Singh, has become the first film in the world to cross 1 billion views on YouTube. The milestone belongs to its Hindi-dubbed version, titled Khoonkhar, which was posted on YouTube by Pen Movies in 2019.

Photo Credit: Instagram: @rakulpreet

From Box-Office Letdown to Digital Phenomenon

Directed by Boyapati Srinu, Jaya Janaki Nayaka released in theatres on August 11, 2017, and received only a mixed response, failing to make a major mark commercially. But its journey didn't end there. The film was dubbed into Hindi as Khoonkhar and uploaded to YouTube by Pen Movies in 2019, where it slowly built a massive following among Hindi-speaking audiences in North India.

Its mix of high-octane action sequences and an emotional family drama struck a chord with viewers who kept returning to the film long after its theatrical run ended. The momentum only grew in recent months, when one of its emotional dialogue sequences went viral across Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, pulling a fresh wave of viewers back to the full movie.

That renewed interest helped push the film past the 700-million-view mark back in 2023, and now, roughly three years later, it has crossed the historic 1-billion mark - a first for any film, Indian or international, on YouTube.

A Record-Breaking Milestone for the Cast and Crew

The achievement holds special significance for Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas, who becomes the only Telugu hero to have a full-length film cross 1 billion views on the platform. For director Boyapati Srinu, it's a reminder that a film's commercial fate at release doesn't always define its long-term legacy - Khoonkhar has quietly become one of the most-watched Indian films ever, proving that digital platforms can give a project an entirely new life.

The film also starred Jagapathi Babu, Tarun Arora, Pragya Jaiswal, Sarath Kumar, Nandu, Suman, Jayaprakash, and Vani Viswanath, with music composed by Devi Sri Prasad and cinematography by Rishi Punjabi.

Rakul Preet Singh's Heartfelt Note

Photo Credit: Instagram: @rakulpreet

Reacting to the milestone, Rakul Preet Singh took to social media to celebrate the character that first brought her widespread recognition. In her post, she wrote that some characters stay with an actor forever, and that her role of Janaki would always be one of them. She thanked fans for their love and for making Jaya Janaki Nayaka the highest-watched Indian film on YouTube ever, calling it a special feat.

She also gave a special shout-out to director Boyapati Srinu and the entire team for what she described as an unforgettable journey.

What's Next for the Cast

While Jaya Janaki Nayaka continues to script history online, Rakul Preet Singh has moved on to one of the biggest projects of her career - she has been cast as Surpanakha in Nitesh Tiwari's mythological drama Ramayana, which also stars Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol, and Ravi Dubey.

The milestone stands as a striking example of how South Indian cinema, especially in its dubbed avatars, continues to command an enormous and loyal digital audience - sometimes eclipsing what a film could ever achieve in theatres alone.