Can you think of industries that are recession-proof (as compared to other sectors?) There is education, healthcare and then there is Bollywood or box office industry. Bollywood industry achieved INR 3700-3800 crores in the 1st 3 quarters of 2019, seemingly unaffected by the slowdown that has disturbed other parts of the economy.
“People are probably watching more movies to escape the challenges of an economic slowdown. It’s not just about big stars and their occasional outings anymore. Small-budget films too are doing better than expected now” – Devang Sampat, deputy CEO of Cinepolis India.
Bidding adieu to 2019 will be incomplete if we don’t go through the Bollywood industry and prominent actors that have fascinated us to visit our nearest movie hall and enjoy their movies with popcorn and cold drinks (for me it has always been nachos and drinks).
Without wasting much time, let’s look at 10 Bollywood actors of this decade, a list revealed by Ormax Media. Akshay Kumar has surpassed Khan’s army and he’s at number 2 on the list. Here we go:
1. Salman Khan: India’s favorite bhaijan is the top male star between 2010-2019. Let’s not highlight his controversies because his work speaks a lot more than rumors about him. His Dabang series has been a super-duper hit around the world and seems like its craze among fans is not fading in the coming time. With Dabangg 3 already running its most likely to cross 150 crore mark and if it does, his top movies like Bharat, Sultan & Bajrangi Bhaijaan (including Dabangg 3) combined would have a revenue of approx. INR 1404 crore. Sources are confident that Dabangg 3 will surpass the overall earning of Dabanng and Dabangg 2.
His idea of releasing movies during festival seasons along with dynamic roles ranging from romantic hero to action man killing an army of bad guys, he definitely is the king of this decade surpassing all the superstars.
2. Akshay Kumar: Started off as an action hero in his career he’s now known for his comedy scenes and his ability to reconstruct himself according to the characters. With his top moves – Housefull 4, Rowdy Rathore, Robot 2.0 & Padman combined have achieved receipts of 1134 crores. Padman was the 10th highest-grossing Bollywood movie in 2018.
It’s definitely a surprise that this comedy start has surpassed our Mr. Perfectionist (Aamir Khan) and romance king (Shah Rukh Khan) and grabbed the number 2 spot.
3. Shah Rukh Khan: Our Bollywood fantasy king is at number 3 this year but I’m sure for many readers out there, he’ll be at number 1 always. At some places in the world, if Bollywood is known to people it’s because of Shah Rukh Khan! With movies like Zero, Raees, Dilwale and Chennai Express combined he was able to generate revenue of INR 1193.78 crores.
Movie Zero is Khan’s most expensive movie which was made at a budget of INR 200 crores while Chennai Express is the 11th highest-grossing Bollywood movie worldwide and it broke the record of 3 Idiots that had grossed INR 3.92 billion.
4. Aamir Khan: A classy superstar of our industry. While other superstars work hard throughout the year to bring movies on different occasions and holidays, Aamir Khan appears once or twice a year and grabs all the limelight. With movies like Thugs of Hindustaan, Dhoom 3, Dangal and PK he made revenue of approx. INR 3701.2 crore.
With Dangal being the highest-grossing Bollywood movie (after Bahubali 2) of all time that alone did INR 2000 crore business while Dhoom 3 was 1st Indian movie to earn 5 billion worldwide.
5. Hritik Roshan: Enduring at number 5, he is Asia’s sexiest man (a list revealed by News18 last year). Not only his attractive cuts and body gains have won the hearts of his fans but his movies like War, Super30, Bang Bang & Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara added revenue of INR 1174 crores.
War is the 7th highest Hindi movie of all times in terms of net collection and it also holds a record of highest opening day collection (in terms of Hindi movies) of all time. Super 30 is the 6th highest Hindi net collection movie in 2019.
6. Ranbir Kapoor: Rishi Kapoor’s biggest contribution to Bollywood has been Ranbir Kapoor. When his first movie was about to release, we can’t deny the fact that girls were drooling over this star baby. It didn’t take much time for him to give blockbuster hits like Sanju, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Tamasha & Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani that made him gain INR 1283.82 crores.
He’s also known for dating multiple actresses from time to time apart from his looks and calm nature. His recent blockbuster hit, Sanju has 2nd highest opening day collection for 2018. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was made at a budget of merely INR 68 crore but generated approx. INR 240 crores worldwide.
7. Ajay Devgan: An actor, a producer, a perfect spouse, and daddy has always been people’s favorite from time to time. No one can forget his blockbuster movie Ishq! During recent times he did blockbuster hits like Singham Returns, Drishyam, Raid, Golmaal Again that generated a revenue of INR 777.37 crores.
Raid was made at a budget of INR 45 crores that generated a revenue of INR 142.81 crores worldwide. His evergreen comedy movie Golmaal Again is the 16th highest collection for Hindi movies of all time.
8. Shahid Kapoor: A young star featured in Asia’s sexiest men, he has been giving films where his role and character were as vibrant as his commitment to acting has been. From comedy to a serious lover, from a villain to druggist he has been welcoming all the roles with an open heart and his fans have liked his performances from around the world. With movies like Kabir Singh, Udta Punjab, Padmaavat & Shaandaar, he grabbed approx. INR 1133.39 crores.
Kabir Singh is 2nd highest-grossing Bollywood movie for 2019 and the highest opening day collection for Shahid Kapoor and 2nd highest collection overall for him after Padmavat.
9. Ranveer Singh: Known for his dynamic nature and dressing style, he has delivered excellently not only in movies but in advertisements and in TV shows where he never stops from energizing the crowd and making them hoot-hoot for him! His blockbuster hits like Gully Boy, Simmba, Padmavat & Befikre received him approx. INR 1310.1 crores worldwide.
Not forget that Gully Boy has the highest 1st-day collection for 2019 and it’s 34th movie of all time which has the highest collection. While Simmba is the highest 1st-day collection for Ranveer Singh and for Rohit Shetty (director).
10. Varun Dhawan: Last but not the least Varun Dhawan stands at number 10 with movies Kalank, Dilwale, Badrinath Ki Dulhania & Student of The Year earned him approx. INR 826.5. His movie Kalank was the highest 1st-day Hindi collection movie in 2019 and became 3rd highest 1st weekend Hindi collection movie in 2019.
So, these were our top 10 Bollywood actors that took our heart away and made us whistle loudly by their performances. Bollywood industry being that largest worldwide, has a lot more to achieve and a lot more to deliver.