The Khans, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar: Is this the last generation of superstars in
Bollywood?
Image by Times of India
“The magnetism, the aura, the mystery, I don’t think this generation has it. When I was at a party, and Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Mr Dilip Kumar walked in, Mr Shah Rukh Khan walked in, there were heads turning everywhere, I have seen it. That aura, everybody feeling their presence, that was power, that was stardom. That was glory.
“Today, everybody is much easier, more casual, more accessible, more available. I know which gym you go to, which Pilates class you go to, I know what you eat, I know who you meet, I know everything about you, how can there be any mystery about you?”
These were the words of Indian filmmaker Karan Johar in an interview with film critic and journalist Anupama Chopra last year. Johar’s statement is not exclusive, but resonates with many Bollywood film fans today.
During the 90s, a new generation of actors emerged, whom many did not envision could carry the baton forward from the likes of veterans like Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, among others. However, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar were soon ruling as superstars in the industry and each of them stood out in specific genres. Shah Rukh as the romantic lead, Salman in family- oriented as well as romantic films, Devgn and Kumar found their fame in action films while Aamir Khan emerged as the most experimental of them all dabbling in several genres featuring in coming of age films, romance, drama and comedies.
From the 90s to mid-2000s these stars saw a massive fan base, successful careers, unimaginable stardom where people witnessed them seamlessly evolve into different genres. This was also a time when not much was known about them behind the scenes, as social media platforms that have become part of our lives today were non-existent.
In a poll conducted on The Asian Connect social media platforms, many of our British Asian readers felt that the slow decline in superstardom has come about because of social media.
100 per cent of the respondents on Twitter felt that the Khans are the last of the stars in Bollywood, while on Facebook 75 per cent of felt the same way. On Instagram, 44 per cent of our readers agreed that the Khans are the last few superstars left in the industry, with 22 per cent arguing that there are superstars from the younger generation as well, while 33 per cent of the participants were unsure but said that there are fewer stars who see such an enormous amount of fame today.
Back in the day, to get a scoop of what life was like for these stars behind the glitz and glamour of the big screen, fans would have to either purchase glossy magazines like Stardust or Filmfare that featured stories and exclusive interviews, or watch television interviews where these stars would rarely show up and ‘get candid’ about their struggles, emotions and relationships.
The inaccessibility, however, was beneficial as it led to a lot of hype and excitement around their films. This is not the case anymore as there is an oversaturation of social media posts and public appearances from these celebrities. Many can confirm the fact that the hysteria and love from the masses that surrounded superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar, is simply not present when comes to the modern day successful actors like Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra, among others.
In another poll where we asked our readers if they think that social media was responsible in the decline of superstardom, 69 per cent of the respondents agreed with the statement. On LinkedIn 67 per cent of voters agreed that social media could be the possible reason why we don’t see stars with the same amount of popularity today.
This goes on to show that even British Asian fans are aware of how increasing access and updates from the lives of celebrities has led to waning stardom. According to The Daily Star, a similar trend has been observed in Hollywood. An article posted by newspaper puts forth a valid point. It mentions, “Stars like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, or Johnny Depp aren’t dependent on box office collections or performances for their stardom to survive.
Image by Twitter/SRK
Maestros like Daniel Day-Lewis or Philip Seymour Hoffman will always be considered better actors than Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But nobody goes in on a Sunday show of Top Gun: Maverick to experience a masterful acting performance from Tom Cruise. They go in to be entertained and trust Tom Cruise with that responsibility.”
This holds true for Bollywood as well. While the acting prowess of accomplished stars like Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan cannot be questioned, people do not buy tickets to see whether they have excelled in their craft or not, but they deem going to the movie hall worth it because they trust the star with carrying most of baggage in the film and entertain the audience.
Over the years, what’s interesting about the Khan-Kumar-Devgn generation of stars is that they have built a tremendously strong and loyal fanbase, who will support them despite multiple failures at the box office. Many actors from the younger generation have come, made a mark for a brief period and left the industry, but these set of superstars not only continue to have successful careers, their fans show the same amount of excitement for every film that is set to release, creating a snowball effect.
This loyal fan following makes the Khans, Kumar, Devgn and even early 2000s superstars like Hrithik Roshan very bankable in the eyes of Bollywood directors and producers, who are ready to offer them new scripts despite multiple failures and other issues like aging.
The same cannot be said for successful actors from the younger generation, who rose to fame in the late 2000s, just when social media platforms like Facebook started to take off. An article by The Hindustan Times mentions, “The proliferation of social media has brought stars closer to fans. They respond to comments, interact with fans on live chats, and occasionally repost of Instagram Stories which makes audiences feel more connected to stars than ever before.
However, it has also created curated personas of stars where they are presented as not how they are but how they can be best marketed. Shah Rukh Khan did not become a superstar because of marketing. Outside of his box office success, what made him a favourite of the masses was that he seemed genuine.”
With the current popularity and mass usage of social media, it has become clear that the age of Bollywood superstars is more likely than not – over. With the constant accessibility and carefully curated content as well as brand image of today’s Bollywood celebrities, the audience has become smart enough to notice that the versions that they are being presented with are not authentic.
Instead of going to the cinema to watch the stars play a character in a film, moviegoers have put more priority on the subject matter of the films to decide if they will pay their hard earned money on them instead. Stars like Rabir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh do have a huge fanbase, but just their presence in a movie is not enough to get the box office numbers that the stars from the previous generations could achieve.
However, when it comes to the Khans and others like Devgn and Kumar, it is safe to say that they are here to stay, given their sturdy presence for about 30 years and the recent box office success of SRK’s smash hit film Pathaan, which saw fully-packed cinema halls across the country and worldwide.
Videos of fans celebrating the superstar’s comeback after four years by dancing to the tunes of ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’ played during the end credits of the movie were circulated and quickly became viral online. It is a depiction of the sheer power that these stars have over their audience, who not only love and adore them, but trust them with the job of leaving them satisfied, moved even, when they walk out of the cinema halls.
