50 and fabulous: How Bollywood's Khans still reign supreme after over two decades
What is it that makes the three Khans of Bollywood — Shah Rukh (SRK), Aamir and Salman — so popular and charming? Ever since their arrival in the Indian film industry, their popularity has gone from strength to strength.
Last year, they ranked first, second and fourteenth, respectively, in the Forbes India list of celebrities. Together, they hold the record of nine out of 10 highest-grossing movies in the history of Hindi cinema. And, here’s the most pleasantly surprising part: they have crossed the half-century mark, age-wise.
After more than two decades in Bollywood, the Khans’ hold on the industry is just as firm as it was in the 1990s. In fact, they are so famous that the first thing that a majority of tourists coming to Mumbai want to do after landing in the city is to see ‘Mannat’ and ‘Galaxy’, the residences of SRK and Salman Khan. Before, it used to be ‘Pratiksha’ and ‘Jalsa’, the two big bungalows of Amitabh Bachchan. If you visit the Bandstand in Bandra, an upscale suburb of Mumbai, you will see scores of people clicking selfies in front of ‘Mannat’ and ‘Galaxy’. This happens all year round. The number of visitors or fans goes up to the thousands at the time of the stars’ birthdays.
What is the secret of their success? They still rule the roost with the same aplomb that they used to in the 1990s. Even the combined forces of the young brigade of Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sushant Singh Rajput, Varun Dhawan, Shahid Kapoor and the slightly older Hrithik Roshan have not been able to dethrone the Khans.
Just plain old professionalism?
“It is their hard work, sincerity and eagerness to do the best in every film they do. That’s why they are ruling today,” says Ramesh Taurani, Managing Director of Tips Films Ltd, Tips industries Ltd.
In fact, Tips, a company that’s into music production since the 1990s, produced two of their earliest films Auzaar (1997) and Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1998) with Salman Khan. Taurani adds, “The Khans are superstars because they choose their films very carefully. They have become very selective. In the last 10 years, they have given many blockbusters and that’s why their popularity has grown to this level.”
"The Khans did not become superstars overnight. They have struggled, faced flops and received flak from the industry and their fans. It has taken them time, real hard work, perfect strategising and great adaptation to the changing times.’’ — Shyam Shroff of Shringar Films
Adaptability to the changing nature of the film industry has made the Khans invincible, says filmmaker and founder/director of Shringar Films, Shyam Shroff. Shringar Films is a big name in the film distribution business, on-screen programming and film marketing. It was among a handful of organisations which laid the foundation for the multiplex chain of Fame Cinema.
“The trio’s films get a bumper opening. What more does a film distributor want?” says Shroff. “But one has to understand that the Khans did not become superstars overnight. They have struggled, faced flops and received flak from the industry and their fans. It has taken them time, real hard work, perfect strategising and great adaptation to the changing times.’’
A strategy of selection
Strategising is something that the Khans have mastered over the years. For Aamir Khan, it was an innocuous dialogue in the Farhan Akhtar’s debut directorial venture Dil Chahta Hai: “Perfectionist ko improve karna mushkil hota hai [it’s difficult for a perfectionist to improve upon his work]”. The film hit the cinema screens in 2001. Ever since, that line, and the image of Mr Perfectionist and Aamir Khan have become synonymous. So much so that even his co-stars address him as such. In a recent interview given to one of the newspapers in Mumbai, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui said, “Aamir Khan is a perfectionist. To work with him one has to be a perfectionist too!”
“The Khans are superstars because they choose their films very carefully. In the last 10 years, they have given many blockbusters and that’s why their popularity has grown to this level.” — Ramesh Taurani, Managing Director of Tips Films
Aamir has been super-selective while picking his scripts, which is why he has been making very emotional and relevant films. He came into international prominence when Lagaan — Once Upon a Time (2001) — a film that he produced and acted in — was nominated for an Academy award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. After winning the Indian civilian awards of Padma Shri (2003) and Padma Bhushan (2010), he switched from rom-coms to theme-based films such as Fanaa (2006), Rang De Basanti (2006) Taare Zameen Par (2007), Ghajini (2008), PK (2014) and the latest Dangal (2016) which has become an all time super-hit film. His reputation got an unprecedented boost when he made and anchored a TV talk show Satyamev Jayate on Star Plus. After that show, for his fans ‘Aamir can do no wrong!’