Originally posted by: Kareenafanatic
This is like opening a can of worms as fans will always disagree.
Regardless, here's what I think is the case.
90-95 belonged to Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt before Sanju was jailed. It was no contest.
From 1995, SRK came to the fore. By 1995, it was Sunny, SRK, and Salman in that order.
By 1998, SRK had overtaken Sunny and it was SRK, Sunny, and Salman in that order. Yet, also in 1998 after PKTDK, Salman pretty much started rivaling the boxoffice clout of SRK and Sunny.
PKTDK was a big turning point for Salman because for the first time, he matched SRK's pull at the boxoffice. It's also when this whole SRK Camp vs Salman Camp started because those two were the most popular and biggest stars of Bollywood at the time, with Sunny fading away.
In 1999, Salman edged ahead of SRK with three huge hits. SRK didn't have a release in 1999.
SRK snatched back his number one status with two huge blockbusters in Mohabattein and K3G. Salman, in contrast, had a poor 2001 and an abysmal 2002. His personal issues also hurt him. I remember articles during those days paying obituaries to Salman's career. 😛
2000 also saw HR debut and he was the heartbeat of the nation for a while. At the boxoffice, it was now between SRK, Sunny, and HR, but post-Indian, Sunny's career pretty much ended.
From 2000 - 2008, it was a one-man monopoly of SRK basically, save for 2001, which was truly Sunny's year and his last hurrah.
After HR's huge success in 2006, he did become the strongest force opposing SRK, but SRK had an incredible 2007, so HR could never be #1.
During this time, Akshay was coming on his own and was #3 behind SRK and HR. Aamir was slowly making his way as the biggest star but it wasn't until 3 Idiots that Aamir became #1 and for the first time, SRK was dethroned.
So, 2000 - 2009 (save for 2001) was SRK.
In 2009, Salman delivered Wanted, which would act as a precursor to Dabbang. When Dabbang came, Aamir was the biggest star followed by SRK. But after Dabbang, Salman moved on to #2 and with the subsequent successes of Bodyguard and Ready, Salman was clearly the undisputed #1 and has been since then - as he's the most consistent actor of the decade.
So:
- Early-mid 90s = Sunny and Sanju.
- Mid-late 90s = SRK, Salman, Sunny.
- 2000 = SRK, HR, Salman, Sunny
- 2001 = Sunny, SRK, HR
- 2002 - 2009 = SRK, HR, Aamir
- 2010 = Aamir
- 2011 - Today = Salman, Aamir, SRK, Akshay
Now, onto the most important part - something Peanutbolt raised. Salman and SRK are household names and two of the most popular actors of their time. They are beyond hits and flops. Both are cultural phenomena. No matter who delivers the biggest hit or highest grossers, if you ask people to define Bollywood of the last 30 years, it will mostly be about Salman and SRK. That's because they have become bigger than their movies. They're cultural figures in themselves.
Only a few superstars have equaled or surpassed their popularity and the list is a who's who: Dilip Saab, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, and Amitabh Bachchan.
Aamir Khan is also at that level of course. He's the most visionary actor of today's age. But you never see people obsessing over Aamir the way they do about Salman or SRK. That's because Salman and SRK have a bigger emotional impact. Aamir is someone people respect. Salman and SRK are loved.
So, going by the same notion, the most popular/biggest actresses of the same period would be:
- Pre-HAHK: Sridevi, Madhuri, Juhi
- Post-HAHK - 1997: Madhuri >>>>>>>>> Karishma, Juhi
- 1998 and 1999: Karishma, Kajol
- 2000 - 2007: Aishwarya, Rani, Preity, Kareena
- 2007 - 2013: Katrina, Kareena, Priyanka
- 2013 - Today: Deepika, Katrina, Kareena
Again, with Aish, she may not have been gold at the boxoffice, but she's a household name. She's known everywhere. After Sridevi and Madhuri, she's the only one who held that aura. Katrina and Deepika have that too, but it's not at the level of Aish.
Rani and Preity had better boxoffice records than Aish and were popular in their own way, but they didn't leave the same impact as Aish. Even today, if Aishwarya is in a movie, it will generate some buzz, which isn't the case for Rani. And as much as I love her, Preity is not even on the scene.
And, astonishingly Kareena, for all her flowerpot roles and flops, is one of the most popular actresses of the last 15 years. On raw popularity alone, she's more popular than Deepika.
Nvm, this is what I think. It's not always clear-cut. It's always about talent, personality, and legacy. Sridevi walked into a movie after a decade and destroyed every actress around her with a stupendous performance in English Vinglish. That is talent and that is why she is a cut above the rest. Sridevi won't be forgotten. The same way the Khans won't. That is what stardom and appeal is.
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