He has been a consistent star. Has given HGOTYs like Tanhaji and Phool aur Kaante.
But he has no ATBBs to his credit and is not a force overseas unlike HR, Akki, Khans or Bachchan.
So he is one of big stars, talented and serious actor but not some huge superstar.
He is a stable star. But he never had craze like even Sunny Deol. Forget Khans or Bachchan or Akki or HR.
He is too lazy, reclusive, less competitive, subdued, subtle, zero PR or marketing skills, to make it as a superstar. He lacks killer instinct. He just does his job and goes home.
That is one of major reasons why he is not that big league despite hits, iconic songs etc. He would not be discussed even this much if he did not marry Kajol.
But he has done well for himself, has own private jet, huge property worth crores, probably has better business sense than Aamir, Saif and Salman in investment and property department, but is no way as huge.
He has never really made effort to groom self or look fitter or younger or build a good body. He is a better actor than HR, Akki, Salman etc. But lacks charisma, glamour and typical trappings of a superstar.
He does not sell himself well. So he remains a big star. Big actor. Reliable and stable bet at BO but not a superstar.
In terms of number of hits I think Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt etc also have more hits than him. Ajay has hardly worked with many big banners. Nor has his production house produced hits of level of OSO, Dangal, Lagaan or even content of level of Lagaan, TZP.
He would be discussed even less if he did not win so many National awards. His National awards are only department where he scores above Khans as they have never won NA for best actor.
Ajay's success rate is better than Akshay. Its because Akshay does too many movies. He also has bigger openers and grossers than Akshay. He gave record breaking opening one time with Hindustan Ki Kasam.
Has also given other bumper openings but don't know for how many movies. He has seen peaks in superstardom, so he is a Superstar. His current stardom may not be equivalent of a superstar, but he has the legacy of one. Of course if you compare him with Khans then he will fall short. He's nowhere near them. Currently he's also doing better than all his contemporaries barring SRK. Drishyam 2 was Blockbuster and second highest grosser of 2022.
People question his stardom because his fans are not on the internet. But internet is not the whole world.