The term superstar may be oversaturated today with most publicists and media organisation branding every successful actor as one but until very recently, this was a tag reserved for only a few stars in the film industry. Over the years, there have been several actors who were successful at the box office, delivered several hits but have never been termed superstars by the media or fans. In fact, the star with most hits in Bollywood history was himself never termed this.
Bollywood’s most successful actor
While the term superstar has been used in Bollywood for the likes of Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, and the three Khans, none of them hold the record for appearing in most number of hits in their career. That honour goes to veteran actor Dharmendra. In a career that has spanned over six decades, Dharmendra has been the lead or part of the ensemble in 74 hit films. The actor, who has worked in 238 films, has delivered 7 blockbusters, 13 hits, 25 hits, and 29 semi-hits over the course of his career. In addition, 20 of his other films have been above average at the box office, giving him 94 successes, over 25 clear of any other star in Bollywood history.
Other Bollywood stars with most hits
After Dharmendra, the star with most hits is Jeetendra, who has 56 hits in his career. Amitabh Bachchan is level with him at 56 as well, followed by Mithun Chakraborty (50) and Rajesh Khanna (42), who round off the top five. Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor, and Vinod Khanna round off the top 10, with each of them delivering between 33-40 hits.
Why Dharmendra was never called a superstar
Dharmendra made his Bollywood debut in 1960 but his breakthrough came with the 1964 film Ayee Milan Ki Bela and Haqeeqat in 1964. For the first decade of his career, even though Dharmendra delivered many hits, he was almost always the second lead in his biggest films, which meant that stars like Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, and Rajesh Khanna were ahead of him. As the actor moved to lead roles in the 70s with hits like Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Seeta Aur Geeta, Raja Jani, Sholay, and Yaadon Ki Baraat, he found himself second to Amitabh Bachchan in stardom. By 80s and 90s, Dharmendra’s hits were smaller in scale, which meant he was never the top draw at the box office. The actor moved to supporting roles after the mid-90s.
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