Atominis, concentrating only on what you write concerning SRK's career, I see some interesting arguments (like the jodi-angle, "making" Farah Khan). My initial post shows exactly the statements against which I wanted to go because of the unfairness of their negative exaggeration. So, there is no need to compare SRK with other actors if one wants to write something about SRK's career without KJo-movies and YRF-films.
Domestic box office arguments are beaten to death, imo, too
There is no need either to enlarge upon both the production houses and their work. I think, it is enough to state that SRK himself felt/feels emotionally attatched to Dharma and YRF...otherwise just forget them in your argumentation about "What would be SRK's career without KJo and YRF?".
I know, it's a question where one has to guess, to suppose, to assume (which seems to be an inherent part of many, many IF postings)...
So firstly, one has to assume that neither YRF nor a potential director Karan Johar would have WANTED to do a movie with SRK (tough task, I think) - otherwise kingkhan22's question (and deductions) would be redundant (and my question, too 😉).
I find HearMe Roar's hinting at another career-graph VERY interesting when she wrote that through the movies SRK did with KJo and YRF (except Darr) the actor in him got somehow sidelined by the star.
That's why I find Guddu's suggestion a good idea: to focus on "SRK's growth as an actor during his career" as we all know that KJo and YRF are a fact in SRK's career but this fact wasn't at all only positive for him (there is nothing positive without something negative...and vice versa).
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