With Singh is Kinng netting Rs 29 crore in its first weekend compared to Rs 26 crore for last year’s blockbuster Om Shanti Om, the most successful star in Bollywood need no longer be a Khan, a Bachchan or a Roshan. For over a decade, there seemed to be a smooth transition from Shahenshah Bachchan to Badshah Shahrukh, with an intermittent challenge from Aamir and Hrithik. If the 1970s and 80s were dominated by Amitabh’s roles of an angry young man called Vijay taking on the system in Deewaar and Agneepath, the last decade has been mostly about the fun guy next door called Rahul getting the girl even if Shahrukh started his career by literally killing her softly with his song in Baazigar or scaring her out of her wits in Darr!
The more serious space was occupied by Aamir whose Lagaan was nominated for an Oscar in the category of the best foreign film. And the schoolkids were wowed by Hrithik playing Superman in Krrish.Now Akshay Kumar has broken into this charmed circle of those who rule Bollywood. Singh is Kinng has proved he can no longer be dismissed as a hero of the front-benchers and whose earthy humour appeals only to the masses - like in director Madhur Bhandarkar’s Aan:
Men at Work where police-officer Akshay hurls a cop-killer to his doom from the top of a building and who, when asked where the baddie is, quietly replies “Voh oopar gaya hai” (“He has gone up”)!
The last two years have seen six Akshay superhits grossing Rs 600 crore. It is difficult to typecast him even if his next release Chandni Chowk to China could be the closest to his heart since it tells the story of a bawarchi trying to make it big as a chef in China - Akshay grew up in Delhi and trained in martial arts in Bangkok, supporting himself by working as a cook. Bollywood’s latest superstar has proved that too many cooks needn’t spoil the blockbuster broth!
