Hrithik had an extraordinary debut, and 20 years later, he is yet to surpass it. There is absolutely nothing in his career stardom wise that surpasses his debut hysteria. Even on the acting front, it is the same case with Koi Mil Gaya being an addition. Between Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and KMG, his entire range (limited) is covered. The Guzarish's Bhardwaj Rangan's review hits the nail on the head. There is a reason why he failed doing movies back to back and chose the Aamir Khan model.
IMO Hrithik Roshan should have been in the position of Salman Khan. He should have been India's biggest Superstar, for his looks/physique and screen presence (not to be confused with acting). Had he been half as good an actor as Abhishek Bachchan and did films more regularly maybe he would have been. In a few years from now, Ranbir and Ranveer will overtake him.
Almost all his films have aged badly barring ZNMD, KNPH and a couple of other films. Again, I (IMO) haven't revisited an HR film in ages, maybe more than a decade.
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I don't believe any heroine has star power on their own. They work well as part of the combination and in that aspect, Kareena plays her part. She is a commercially successful "heroine" compared to many of her contemporaries. By default, she has a few movies that could be revisited. Like Bajarangi Bhaijaan, for example, or all movies with Aamir Khan. And there are a few more, but nothing "solo".
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Abhishek Bachchan was doomed to fail from his debut. His father is greatest ever star/actor and mother is one of the finest actress (not many remember it though). No one (in the past) has and will (in the future) go through the scrutiny and hatred that he has gone through in their career, ever. I mean, even now in 2020 some of the posts in this very thread are an example of that.
Abhishek Bachchan is the Best Actor among these three. He has better range and multiple films to prove it. The fact that the Best Directors have worked with him in their most ambitious projects and he has been working nonstop (despite his diminishing box office returns) is a testament to his acting talent. I would say both Abhishek and Kareena are mirror images in that aspect. Only she is more driven career-wise whereas ABJr doesn't seem that interested.
As far as 17 flops and the general box office perception is concerned, Abhishek is not the first. Amitabh had more than a dozen flops before getting breakthrough. Then there is Shammy Kapoor whose record was equalled by Abhishek. There was Akshay in the '90s, Saif (worse in '90s) barring a small part of his career, Shahid Kapoor has a disastrous track record, Emraan Hashmi still gets movies (Imran Khan doesn't). Abhishek like all of them will continue to get movies because they all have proven their worth as actors.
As far as longevity of films is considered, Abhishek tops his generation and next in that aspect. Many of his films have dated well and seem relevant even now (ex: Delhi 6). His model (choice of films) is what the current generation of stars (Ranbir/Ranveer) follow. Ranbir has said this in an interview at the start of his career when asked specifically, whom would he like to follow between Hrithik and Abhishek.
Ok, enough of Abhishek praise for the rest of the year I only wish he gets enough success among his upcoming films so that there is another decade of exciting choices.
Edited by simplyrdb - 5 years ago
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