It's all about connect.
SRK's biggest Blockbusters have always been romantic movies. Darr was finely wrapped as one - even if it did have SRK in an immortal role. Baazigar was his sucker punch.
I think somewhere SRK failed to reinvent himself. Save for CE, which was a masala film, he's been doing the wrong type of movies for a long time now and that's not just what you expect from a smart guy like him.
Fan was awful. SRK as Gaurav was excellent. Yet, why did Aryaan have to dominate the show in the 2nd half? It was a typical SRK performance (as Aryaan). The movie could have been darker - without the chase/espionage sequences that made no sense at all.
How the heck is a Delhi boy all of a sudden an expert conman? Things just didn't make sense. You can't fool the audience.
And, no - contrary to the popular opinion, Fan wasn't niche or anything. It could have been. Talaash - for Bolly standards - was niche. Not Fan. It was amazing in the first half because if Gaurav; tepid in the second half because the makers lost the plot.
I also dislike SRK's obsession with VFX. If you're so into it, I'd rather SRK make a mythological movie than some piss poor movie like Ra One or Fan.
Salman and Aamir have reinvented themselves. Both started with romance. Aamir always balanced his movies. Raakh is a classic example of his intelligent choices and that was his 2nd movie.
Salman moved from romance (MPK/SB/Saajan) to action (Veergati/KA) to comedies (Judwaa) to rom-coms (PKTDK/Biwi No. 1). He stuck by rom-coms for a while, but then did a darker, obsessive love story like Tere Naam before bouncing back with another rom-com MSK. Then, he did masala movies like Wanted and Dabbang. So, he's done what audiences expected of him.
In the case of Aamir, for every Dhoom 3, there's a Talaash. For Fanaa, there's a RDB. For Ghajini, there's a TZP. He's balanced it and he's worked in most genres - thrillers, dramas, romance, action, and comedy.
The point is SRK needs to do good movies. He's a fabulous actor when he's on game. Raaes looks really good, but then - it's clashing with a titanic movie. Aamir has Dangal coming up.
We're at a stage where Salman's name itself ensures huge numbers and Aamir's dedication and reputation does the trick. SRK's name alone is enough for opening, but his content drags the movie down.
Every actor has to go through ups and downs in their career. Salman did. Aamir did. SRK is now in that phase - the only difference is the scale of filmmaking and box-office dynamics have changed, so the numbers are still huge.
Luckily, SRK seems to be signing the right kind of movies now: Imti's next, Anand Rai's next. They sound good.
For a star, it's crucial to deliver iconic movies every now and then. With Aamir, it was 3I and then PK. With Salman, it was Dabbang and BB. SRK hasn't done that since CDI. It's been nearly 10 years.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
0