2023 was a year to remember for Bollywood, as Shah Rukh Khan gave back-to-back hits like Pathaan and Jawan. While these movies offered good content, they also flourished on SRK’s unmatched star power.
His charismatic presence made these ventures huge successes, demonstrating yet again that he is the biggest crowd-puller in Indian cinema. After SRK’s successes, various films such as Animal, Gadar 2, Stree 2, and Chhaava turned into box office successes.
But these movies succeeded mainly on account of their interesting stories rather than the charm of their actors. People have more and more started giving importance to content over simple star power, and this change indicates a turning point in Bollywood’s affairs.
In the midst of this change, Salman Khan’s highly anticipated Sikandar released with great hopes. His fans believed that his star power would make even mediocre content a hit, but the movie flopped miserably.
Even though an opening day of ₹45-50 crore was predicted, it could only manage ₹25 crores—a dismal opening for an Eid release. The movie was trashed by critics for its lackluster performances and unoriginal storytelling, and Salman could not save it with his star power alone.
This debacle has sparked renewed controversies over whether SRK is the last Bollywood icon who can make mediocre movies into blockbusters on his own presence alone.
SRK’s next movie is now in hot demand by fans, making him all the more the industry’s reigning superstar. While Bollywood continues to change, SRK is the torchbearer of the traditional stardom of an age dominated by content cinema.
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