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Is Aamir Bollywood's new King of the Khans?

Is Aamir Bollywood's new King of the Khans?

With Salman suffering a rare flop and SRK without a major hit in 4 years, the crown is firmly placed on Aamir's head
09 Jul, 2017

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan - three Indian stars sharing a surname - have ruled Bollywood box offices across three decades, but the success of wrestling blockbuster Dangal means it's Aamir who's currently king of the Khans.

Known as the 'Khans of Bollywood', the three have been the undoubted superstars of the Hindi film industry since the mid-1990s, taking it in turns to reign supreme. But with Dangal smashing records, Salman suffering a rare flop and Shah Rukh without a major hit in four years, the crown for now is firmly placed on Aamir's head.

"The Khans used to be on a par but Aamir has moved ahead and SRK is kind of lagging behind recently," film trade analyst Ramesh Bala said of the trio who all turn 52 this year and who are not related.

Dangal has set new and previously unimaginable parameters for the box office potential of a Bollywood movie since it was first released in India in December last year. It quickly became the highest-grossing Bollywood film ever, knocking another of Aamir's movies off the top spot, and has made close to INR 20 billion ($310 million) worldwide.

Aamir plays the role of wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat who defies the odds by raising his daughters Geeta and Babita Phogat to become champion wrestlers. Geeta won gold for India at the 2010 Commonwealth Games while Babita topped the podium at the 2014 edition.

The movie was released in India on Dec 23 last year and quickly became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, beating the 2014 science fiction film PK.
The movie was released in India on Dec 23 last year and quickly became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, beating the 2014 science fiction film PK.

Critics say the movie resonated because it was a patriotic story about a triumphant underdog that dealt with India's skewed attitude towards girls, and credit a large part of Aamir's success to his careful choosing of movies with a message.

"Aamir is one person who really puts a lot of thought and effort into selecting films that are relevant to an Indian audience. There are very few actors who really do enough of that," film distributor Akshaye Rathi told AFP.

Audiences lapped up Aamir's 2014 satirical science fiction comedy PK, number two on the all-time Bollywood grossing list, for its questioning of religious superstitions. His 2009 hit 3 Idiots appealed for its coming of age tale about students struggling to deal with the pressure of becoming engineers.

Genius

Rathi also points to the fact that Aamir does one film every two years on average, while Salman and Shah Rukh regularly release two a year.

"Aamir has been very consistent for a very long time. He doesn't do as many films as Shah Rukh or Salman and the more films you do the higher the chance that one misses," Rathi explained.

Salman's annual Eid holiday release is usually a blockbuster shoo-in, but the latest, Tubelight bombed. Critics panned the script and said the star's portrayal of a 'village idiot' failed to resonate with his largely young Indian male fan base.

Bala blames Shah Rukh's failure to register a hit since Chennai Express in 2013 on "experimenting with different genres", including romance, action and drama.

Aamir does one film every two years on average, while Salman and Shah Rukh regularly release two a year.
Aamir does one film every two years on average, while Salman and Shah Rukh regularly release two a year.

Aamir is lauded for taking on challenging roles. For Dangal he gained and then lost again 25 kilograms (55 pounds) in weight while cinemagoers adored his portrayal of a humanoid alien stranded on Earth in PK. "As a star he doesn't enjoy so much of a fan following as he enjoys the trust of the audience for his craft. People believe at the back of their minds that if Aamir appears in a film there will be something, different, something novel in it," said Rathi.

Dangal has made around $180 million more than PK in global sales thanks to a record-breaking run in the hugely profitable Chinese market, where Aamir has worked hard at building his brand, becoming the biggest Indian star there.

"Aamir has time and again proven his marketing genius and his genius when it comes to choosing the right script, delivering a terrific performance and enthralling the audience," said Rathi.

Comments

Shuaib Jul 09, 2017 01:32pm
For sure, Aamir is far better than both khans but Shahrukh is quite mature than Salman Khan.
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GK Jul 09, 2017 01:39pm
Amir is genious.... Salman is a mass entertainer with charm...
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RISHAB ROY Jul 09, 2017 02:12pm
I like amir khan than salman and SRK . Afterall he is Mr. Perfect in every role.
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R Sultan Jul 09, 2017 02:16pm
And he is the most modest of most Bollywood actors, male & female.
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Sabir Jul 09, 2017 02:17pm
Matchless Aamir khan, absolutely he is better then both Khans when it comes to compare all three stars.
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Khalil Jul 09, 2017 02:22pm
Aamir Khan is like Dilip Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan is like Raj Kapoor.
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Baldev Singh Jul 09, 2017 03:04pm
He is , indeed !
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Salar Jul 09, 2017 03:05pm
He has been the best for a long time. He not only acts but does the whole bit from the scripts, production, etc. And quality. It's not about quantity, it's about quality.
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IrfaN Jul 09, 2017 03:21pm
I don't understand why we are interested in Cross border movies and star. One side we say we need to ban there movies and on other side we discuss about them.
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The Great Maratha Jul 09, 2017 04:07pm
No doubt, Aamir is real king of Bollywood others are media created Kings....!!!!
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Raees Jul 09, 2017 05:21pm
Shah Rukh was doomed to fail. In any genre other than romance. Now that age is not on his side it is without surprise that he is failing predictably and consistently.
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Annoying crow Jul 09, 2017 05:29pm
Aamir has left behind everyone for more than a decade. He has been the highest grosser since Gazani. Salman has been second. Except Chennai Express, Shah Rukh couldn't even surpass Salman, leave alone Aamir.
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Prabhul Nair Jul 09, 2017 06:31pm
Honestly, we still like Shahruk more than Amir. No doubt Amir makes good movie but his personal life is still not accessible . Whereas SRK we do see him taking kids and family to cricket matches and PDAs. Whereas Amir is busy with work and when he is free and with the family, he ensures he is indoor and there shall be total privacy.
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ripan Jul 09, 2017 06:55pm
Salman is the best actor in
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Hindu Jul 09, 2017 07:00pm
Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui all the way for me.
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Shiv Gautam Jul 09, 2017 07:58pm
Salman is a poor actor, and last movie which was worth watching of Shah Rukh was My name is khan, amir is a value for money star, rarely disappoints. My personal favorite.
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majid Jul 09, 2017 08:21pm
@RISHAB ROY me too
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Santhosh Jul 09, 2017 10:56pm
Aamir since 2000 after Lagaan & Dil Chahta Hai is the supremo when it comes to standards and box office! SRK is not substance and Salman is more of only mass centric! Aamir's movies have always taken the Indian film industry forward. He is undisputed! High time every one speaks in the same voice! SRK & Salman were never his equals & will never be.
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Shahryar shirazi Jul 09, 2017 11:00pm
The other two Khans are still trying to be heroes. They need to improvise like Aamir
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SHAH S Jul 09, 2017 11:11pm
Time is coming when we will be hearing names of actors renamed such as: Akshay Khan, Hrithik Roshan Khan, Rajnikanth Khan, Ajay Devgan Khan, Ranveer Khan, Ranbir Khan, and so on.. Without last name Khan, no top pedestal position... ;
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ind bihari Jul 09, 2017 11:31pm
Dear writter, what do u meant by among KHANs?????? HE is indian and we love him so much...you did not find any other superstar in bollywood
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Arjun Jul 10, 2017 03:11am
Aamir khan has been the true bollywood king for the last decade. Shahrukh khan is purely a media created king. He pays the media to stay in news.
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ZAKIt Jul 10, 2017 06:33am
Sadly there run us coming to an end.
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Biswajit Jul 10, 2017 07:47am
@Hindu - I would like to add Aamir also to the list also . Three of them are the most accomplished actors in the industry .
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Munazza saad baqai Jul 10, 2017 02:26pm
Amir Khan had something different each time. That's why he is superb from others.
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Saleem Jul 10, 2017 02:30pm
Amir Khan genus actor in the world
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snr Jul 11, 2017 02:54pm
@Saleem shahrukh is the best
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snr Jul 11, 2017 02:54pm
shahrukh is the best bas baat khatam
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anil sahu Jul 11, 2017 07:14pm
@IrfaN because you cant deny the fact that indian movies are superior so as india.
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Akhand Bharat Jul 11, 2017 10:59pm
Well actually King of khans is Irrfan. King of Bollywood is Akshay.
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mady Jul 12, 2017 03:20pm
Aamir Khan has been sensible, smart and moved with times. Aamir has been selective in last decade and tried to work on good scripts with great directors.
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mady Jul 12, 2017 03:24pm
@IrfaN Be'cos one cannot hide creative-work emanating from anywhere.
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uzair Jul 12, 2017 08:20pm
he sure is the king
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Kshatriya Jul 13, 2017 10:52am
Not the Khans but Prabhas the lead actor of Bahubali is the new King of INDIAN movie industry.
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Murali Jul 13, 2017 03:47pm
@Kshatriya. Prabhas is just a one film wonder! Here we are comparing performance over 3 decades.
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