Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan – who is the biggest superstar

The never-ending debate among the people from a different era is that between Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, who is the biggest superstar of all time in Bollywood. Let’s break it down with some facts and find out between – Dilip Kumar Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan – who is the biggest superstar.

Who is the Biggest Superstar- Dilip Kumar Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan

Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar ( Md. Yusuf Khan ), started his film career in the year 1944 through the film “Jwar Bhata”. The movie “Shaheed” released in the year 1948 was a hit and provided him the much-needed base in the film industry.
In the movie “Shaheed” he portrayed a freedom fighter who is up to face any obstacle for the nation’s freedom but has to deal with criticism from his father. And the plot of the movie revolves around him and his love interest Sheila i.e. “Kamini Kaushal”.

Dilip Kumar’s Rise to fame

With movies like ‘Andaz’, Jogan, Deedar, Insaniyat, etc. he cemented his place in Bollywood as a hit film actor. Later on his movies ‘Devdas’, ‘Yahudi’, and ‘Madhumati’ broke all records on the box office. His acting was way ahead of his time and he is known as the pioneer of method acting which was not even a term in Bollywood in those days.

And then came a historic movie “Mughal-e-Azam” in the year 1960. It became the highest-earning movie of all time and his role ( apart from Prithviraj Kapoor’s Akbar ), became cult.

In those days, an actor was shelved after a certain age. But Dilip Kumar was an actor with an immense caliber and didn’t choose to get sidelined. His second phase of career saw huge hits like- ‘Karma’, ‘Saudagar’, ‘Shakti’, ‘Vidhata’ etc.

Indian cinema never saw such a huge persona in Film Industry before Dilip Kumar. He became the scale of measurement for acting. And almost every aspiring actor saw him as their idol and tried copying him. Even legends like Manoj Kumar, who himself was an established actor of that time acknowledged the same.

He won a total of 9 Film fare Awards including the first-ever Filmfare Award in the year 1954.

His persona and fan base was so huge that people all over the globe adored him including countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Italy, Russia, London, etc. He was so popular and respected that during the Kargil War he was given the chance for Peaceful talks with Pakistan over the phone. This itself proves his stardom.

Rajesh Khanna

The word ‘Superstar’ itself was coined for the Veteran Actor Rajesh Khanna. His very first film ‘Akhri Khat’ was the first-ever nomination of an Indian Hindi Movie in Oscars.

Although his initial few films didn’t work that well. But with the release of the movie “ ARADHNA”, he skyrocketed to fame overnight. And with movies like – Doli, Kati Patang, Sachcha Jhutha, Haathi Mere Saathi, etc. he became the national heartthrob. Rajesh Khanna became immensely popular, so much that girls started writing him letters in blood. Some girls got married to his photograph and this is not just the end of his fan-stories.

With over 15 consecutive super hits, he was termed as the “India’s first Superstar”. He not only worked in commercial movies but made classic movies commercial. Some examples of such movies are “Bawarchi”, “Anand”, etc. This reflected that he was a complete package and not just a romantic hero. He blended well with almost every genre.

Dilip Kumar is termed as school of acting whereas Rajesh Khanna is termed as the Superstar of cinema.

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Amitabh Bachchan

The Millennium Star, the greatest of all and whatnot. All adjectives are less for Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. From a flop hero of over 12 movies to century superstar, in the past 5 decades, Big B has seen all.

Movie “Zanjeer” cemented the acting career of Amitabh and gave him an instant and much-needed fame. He was termed as “ Angry Young Man “ after this movie, the adjective still used for him. And it was just a start. Films like “Deewar”, Trishul, Kala Patthar, etc. made him the next big thing after Rajesh Khanna. He now was often compared with Rajesh Khanna and his stardom. Even the movie “ Anand” is termed as the passing the Torch of stardom from Rajesh Khanna to young Amitabh.

Then came the highest-earning movie of that time and the biggest movie of Indian History even now- “SHOLAY”. With this release, he became the hero of masses not even in India but worldwide.

But he didn’t stick to the image of Angry Young Man and always kept variations in the type of roles and movies. He also worked in the romantic genre as well as some comic reliefs like “CHUPKE CHUPKE”, “Do Aur Do Panch”, “Amar Akbar and Anthony”, etc.

He never shied away from working in multi starrer movies and marked his imprint in the roles provided to him. Mard, Satte Pe Satta, Shaan, Lawaaris, etc, all became huge hits and he was the new Superstar of the Nation.
Although after a life-threatening injury in Coolie, he quit the acting career and joined the politics. But again he returned for the second phase of his career.
His later films like Toofan, Insaniyat, etc. didn’t work well and he went for another hiatus.

Amitabh Bachchan again returned for the third time through the TV from the show “KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI”. It was the time when Television was termed mediocre to films. But the show became a huge hit.

Meanwhile, he worked in the movie “ Mohabbatein “, which became a huge commercial hit too. These two successive hits brought Big B into the limelight. His later films – “ Aankhen”, Kaante, Baghban, Black, etc. all proved the nation’s Superstar is not dead and he is not just a star but Star of the Millennium.

Amitabh Bachchan has proved that age is just a number with movies like Sarkar 3, Pink, 102 Not Out, etc. His many more movies are set for release in the coming years. 

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CONCLUSION

I may sound diplomatic but it is not fair to choose from people of a different era and a different set of work. Dilip Kumar is the pioneer of realistic cinema and epitome of Stardom. Whereas Rajesh Khanna is “The original Superstar” and the very first Nation’s hero in true sense. On the other hand, surviving for over 5 decades with the same stardom is what makes Amitabh Bachchan the Millennium Superstar. But still, if I have to answer the question – “Dilip Kumar Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan – who is the biggest superstar ”, I will pick Mr. Rajesh Khanna.

Yes, Dilip Kumar carved the path for realistic cinema and in acting, he surpasses everyone, hands down, but Rajesh Khanna provided the box office numbers. The fan followings and craze he had is unmatched even now. Not even Amitabh Bachchan has that insane fan base. Also, keeping in mind that now there are many media platforms for promotion like social media, etc. but getting a fan base and such a huge mass publicity with limited resources for promotions is commendable.

So, between Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan – who is the biggest superstar in your view ? And also comment below who do you think is the next biggest superstar.