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Right from the days of the Dilip Kumar’s and the Amitabh Bachchan’s or the Rajesh Khanna’s, Bollywood had slowly started shaping up, accepting the numerous changes that it had to undergo through different Eras in its lifetime. But it was only during the late 80s and the early 90s that a revolutionary change took the entire industry by a storm. And guess what? The storm has been unstoppable ever since!
Replenishing the voids that our Kaka or others left after they decided to cut down on films, it was upto the young brigade then to take up the baton and march ahead. So they did and how! Namely the Khans-it was Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan who respectively made their magnanimous debuts and processed the entire whirlwind change in the fraternity. Catering to the classes, the masses and everybody else ever since their inception into the Bolly ville, these three have ceremoniously worked hard and clearly created a legion of their own. And the result remains unanimously agreed to in unison. The Famous Khan-daan has definitely taken over the industry giving all the other lead heroes of those times aka Govinda and the Anil Kapoors a definite run for their money.
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While Salman entered filmdom with a supporting role in the Farooque Sheikh-Rekha starrer, he made a bombastic entry with the decade’s most iconic ode to love and friendship: Maine Pyar Kiya. Aamir romanced his way through with a film as strikingly organic as Qayamat se Qayamat Tak. And finally in 1992, it was Shah Rukh who walked away with the cake (and the heroine! As well) in Deewana, zooming on his bike and driving his way through to everyone’s hearts! It has almost been 23-25 years for the three heavyweights to have made their debuts and there have been a brocade of at least a score of other newcomers who made their mark, but never could anyone attain the status that these three have enjoyed over time. Starting way back in their ‘20s, now that all of them are nearing the half century mark, roles are still being penned keeping the superstars in mind and that is quite a monumental feat, to be precise!
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Meandering through their share of mushy romances, dhoom dhadaka action and some creatively mind boggling intellectual pieces, all three of them have reigned supreme and maintained their super-star status even though there had been occasional flickers with films getting beaten to dust at the box office. While all the other contemporaries faded away slowly with time, some did manage to stick through alongside the big brand of the Khans but never could they even remotely come close to what the Khans had already achieved! Today, the Khans are definitely synonymous with the Indian film industry and the most identified brand that has snowballed Bollywood ever.
Standing the tallest like the evergreen conifer among a host of other trees around, The Aamir-Salman-Shah Rukh trio has changed the dimensions of Bollywood like no other and hence, they ascended as the most iconic stars in the history of Bollywood. Now that they are the biggest and the grandest actors of them all, they are paid in huge numbers, maybe the hugest remunerations of them all. With amounts ranging in between Rs. 25 to 35 crores along with profit sharing on films, the Khan power is of paramount impact on the industry today.
At a time when the super star status is measured in terms of commerce and the film’s records, it is only the Khan power who has by far, been essentially the sole reason for treasured box office results. Providing immense fodder even in years of drought, the big films, which the Khans have branded and been associated with, have supplied the industry with money spinners and have somehow kept the momentum going in. Raking in crores at the box office both domestically and internationally, they have instrumentally defined Hindi cinema both here and abroad. And if Bollywood has become a global phenomenon today, most of the credit goes to these three stalwarts who have somehow introduced and revolutionized the Indian film industry on international platforms.
Coming to statistics, Six of the Eight films that have globally raked in over Rs. 200 crores at the cash registers, belong to the Khans, with Aamir Salman and Shah Rukh having two films each that bombastically made their way through the jinx. And with the 100 crore club being the newest benchmark to success and pride in the film industry, each actor, director and producer eyes that coveted century number to define their talents and reach today. Aamir, who led the foundation stone to the 100 crore club making Ghajini the first ever entrant into the 100 crore brigade, striking in a trend of sorts, he made it up by making sure that he opens up the gates of a 200 crore mark as well. Even there, the 200 crore club stands as a testimony to the superior Khan power with two Aamir films, 3 Idiots and Dhoom 3 and one Shah Rukh Khan film, Chennai Express taking the top spots with effortless conviction. Although there is an array of 27 films that have crossed the desiderate link, 13 of them belong to the Khan daan, which is therefore almost 50% of the total number. While contemporaries like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and others account for half of the record smashing films that have hit the Bollywood crossroads, its upto these three actors who have largely supplied the other half of successful films. But comparing them in that regard would be totally wrong as collection-wise, the films by a Salman or an Aamir or a Shah Rukh have definitely shattered the most records. Although our superstars do not believe in numbers, so they say, their box office filmometer says a totally different story. With all the 100 crore and 200 crore films having a total lifetime collections of an approximated mammoth Rs. 3790 crores, the 13 movies belonging to the three Khans have recorded almost 54% of the amount with their 13 films amounting upto Rs. 2040 crores.
And not just in India, the reach of our Khans even outside the nation is incredible and the overseas collections definitely stand out as a brave testimony to that. With the overseas arena dominated by Shah Rukh Khan, he has six of his films reigning supremo in the top 10 list. Aamir, who has solidified his overseas stance with a hugely impacted Dhoom 3 and a powerfully scripted 3 Idiots, has two films while Salman has one film on the list. All in all, the three Khans occupy nine of the top 10 spots outscoring and smashing all other contemporaries to a hilt when it comes to brand and star power.
With a massive fan following that is numbered somewhere at a few billions globally, the Teen tigda of Bollywood have aced it with utmost perfection. While their movies are celebrated as festivals, the presence of a certain Khan can ensure huge openings and box office records being smashed every now and then. Commanding heavy screen releases, it is rather a foolish trade gimmick if any other actor, however big he is, pits his films with any of the Khan’s! Remember the Jab Tak Hai Jaan issue where SRK’s JTHJ commanded almost as much as double the screen count than that of Ajay’s Son Of Sardaar until matters were resolved and SOS’s screen counts were increased following a legal issue. And who can forget the epic clash of titans that was supposed to take over last Eid between SRK’s Chennai Express and Akki’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara. Given how Akshay’s film fared on a single release, it would have been highly questionable if it released along with King Khan’s record smasher of sorts, at all! Even earlier this year, the young team of Yaariyan had to make last minute changes to avoid clashes with Salman’s Jai Ho while they easily struck war with Vishal Bharadwaj’s Madhuri Dicit comeback starrer Dedh Ishqiya and eventually emerged victorious! The bottom-line is clear and it sends chills down the spine, “Never mess with the Khans when it comes to the Box-Office”.
Striking records, minting about Rs. 36 crores, Rs. 33 crores or Rs. 32 crores just on the opening day is no mean feat at all, knowing that the first day amount is sometime the total lifetime amount of some other films! And more than the opening day collections, what has gained force today is who scores the fastest 100 crore, that too in the least number of days. Scoring the century initially looked impossible, then came a phase where 100 crore became just another Box office norm and then it started becoming all the more passé! Today, what has caught immense euphoria and has become more hysteric is how fast do our actors cross the 100 crore mark. Even there, we have Aamir trodding past that line in just three days with Shah Rukh taking just about three and half days to tradein 100 crores at the box office. Adding numerous feathers to their caps and the bowler hat as well, Shah Rukh-Salman-Aamir’s Box office credentials speak volumes of their ever growing popularity and stardom. Shah Rukh surely takes the lead here with 27 hits and superhits along with 21 overseas hits while Salman has 25 hits and superhits under his belt coupled with 9 overseas hits. Even Aamir, who is known to be utterly choosy when it comes to doing selective films, has 19 hits and superhits along with 9 overseas rockers!
But it is definitely not just the numbers ir the records that have carefully determined and defined their superstar status. Although there are other actors, be it Ajay Devgn or an Akshay kumar who have also meticulously chosen films and created a niche for themselves, been record smashers, scored centuries with their films over and over again, there is a certain criterion where they are no match compared to the Khans: the hype and the hysteria! While their films go on to make huge money at the cash registers as well, it’s the Khan films that are celebrated like festivals. Be it on festive weekend or a non-holiday release, any Khan film is sure to have packed in the right amount of punch, which is eons more than what any Ajay or an Akshay film could ever do! They could never maintain the continuity that the Khans ahave otherwise maintained all throughout their career graph, from the visceral ups to the volatile downs, they have managed it all. Whereas Ajay fizzled out with a Himmatwala midway pausing his winning streak whereas Akshay has failed to take the golden run ever since his Housefull2 and the Rowdy Rathore days!
Plus, in an industry where we chant, ‘Content is the King’, these three magnanimous icons have made the most out of gibberish content, making it look resplendent, entertaining and utterly delicious! Although you associate films like Taare Zameen Par and Talaash with Aamir, he has created wonders with a film as nonsensically unbelievable as Dhoom 3. Coming to SRK, he has always just had to spread his arms around to bask in all the glory and appreciation. Repetitive, and sometime too much over the top (take Chennai Express for example), you have the same Shah Rukh delivering all this with dimpled flamboyance, the way he put forward a Kabir Khan or maybe a Rizwan Khan! And the person who stands as the biggest evidence in this context would be none other than Salman Khan. His films have most times had no subtexts, no pitched plotlines but are filled with banal jokes, inane one liners, catchy but foolish maneuvers and some dhuadaar impossible stunts and grueling action sequences! And yet his films have become the staple diet for the average Indian cine-goer! Making any loose plot look extremely attractive and alluring for the audiences, the Khans have somehow made the Bland look Interesting and that is the sole magic of any Khan film!
But having said that, along with the Khans, there have been numerous films, some well scripted ones like Barfi!, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Ramleela amongst others which have done exceedingly well and have been accepted really well by the audiences and hence have presented us with a league of Gen-Y actors who have also done their fair share of gifting us with some beautiful performances and translating them into huge counts at the theatres, setting the money registers rolling, just like the Khan, but only on a very subdued level. While films like Chennai Express and Dabangg and the Dhoom 3 have done wonderful business with such shabby script and sloppy stories, films like Barfi! and Ramleela and BMB had been restricted within a meager sum of approx 100-110 crores only! But, of all the next generations that have come post the Khan resurgence, it would not be wrong to say that Hrithik and Ranbir have become tough contenders for the throne as well. With their films like Agneepath, Krrish 3 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Barfi! going great guns as well, they have slowly emerged as the next breed of actors who are all set to carry the Khan baton forward!
Yet it goes without any hint of denial that it would be really difficult and next to impossible to have the fans croon for the next Generation in the way they have done for their most loved trio but if they work hard, they might just have their share of fame and glory as well. The way they have used their audience connect and enormous screen presence to drive the hugest sections of the audiences to the theatres and catch a glimpse of them on the silver screen, thereby triggering huge numbers at the box office, the Khans have predominantly ruled the entire Bollywood coliseum for the past two decades and even more! With more and more footfalls increasing each time their next film plugs in the movie plexes, it would not be wrong to say that Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir have carefully defied all rules to usher in an industry Renaissance.
As our most loved stars continue contributing to the film industry gifting us with some brilliantly written roles and some more entertainment packages, we take this occasion to thank the three Khans on behalf of everyone in the nation, for their relentless hard work and determination that has not only surmounted them to the pinnacle of the fraternity but has also raised the industry benchmarks by notches. Shah Rukh sir, Salman sir and Aamir sir, this is a humble Thank you and just another way of saying We Love You!
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