The Khan(s) War

We all have been hearing of Khan War for a long time now. Of course it is annoying. Because three experienced actors have the same last name does not mean you have to pit them against each other. If you want to talk about competition, you cannot simply count how much each of their movie makes but this post is basically about that. And when it comes to the Khan War, surprisingly, people start taking "present" more seriously than the past. Wah bhai wah! The past is dead now?

Candidate #1, Shah Rukh Khan.

He's done about half a century of movies and lots of cameos. According to critics, his best work from 1992-2011 are: Devdas, Swades, Chak De! India and My Name Is Khan. Going by favoritism, nearly all movies are appreciated except for the rotten grapes according to many people: Ram Jaane, English Babu Desi Mem, Duplicate, Ra.One, Josh, Trimurti, etc.

Candidate #2, Aamir Khan.

He's done less than 50 films. According to critics and people alike, his best work from 1988-2011 includes: 3 idiots, Ghajini, Rang De Basanti, Lagaan, Sarfarosh, Rangeela, Dil Chahta Hai, etc. The rotten grapes on his lap happens to be: Mangal Pandey, Mela, Mann, Baazi, Love Love Love, Parampara, etc.

Candidate #3, Salman Khan.

He's done nearly 100 films. According to critics and people alike, his best works include: Dabanng, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Maine Pyar Kiya. Maybe I'm missing some out because he's done tons of movies and I have lost track and cannot sort them out. Tons of rotten grapes for him...too many to list.

Going by the amount of "All Time Blockbusters", and "Blockbusters" here, according to Box Office India FOR INDIA:
Shah Rukh Khan, 2 ATBBs and 4 blockbusters (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, Om Shanti Om, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Chak De! India, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum)

Aamir Khan, 3 ATBBs and 0 blockbuster (3 Idiots, Ghajini, and Raja Hindustani)

Salman Khan, 2 ATBBs and 1 blockbuster (Dabanng, Hum Apke Hain Kaun, and Partner)

Now adding up the distribution share for each actor's movies which have been ATBBs and BBs:

Shah Rukh Khan: 2,293,100,000 rupees
Aamir Khan: 1,954,100,000 rupees
Salman Khan: 1,146,400,000 rupees

That comparison was money wise. Content wise, I have already given a little hint and you can also research these three stooges to find out. The problem that plagues us fans is that we don't take the pain of doing research and open our big fat mouth to bring the opponent or in our case, opponents.

Acting wise, here goes my personal opinion. Of course, to me Shah Rukh's acting was, is and will always be brilliant. He always does something new. Yeah people accuse him of having the same mannerisms, expressions, etc. But my eyes never found that. You are free to call me ignorant and biased but really...I have learned to analyze and this man is a truly amazing actor and a treat to watch. Even if direction is bad, he can carry the movie on his shoulder and make it a fantastic movie. He's done plenty of movies and if the movie has repeat value today then it's mainly because of him. His acting definitely touches hearts...well not everyone's. Because of him, today we want the villain's victory over the good one's. Even Gabbar Singh of Sholay never got this honor that Vicky/Ajay of Baazigar or Rahul of Darr has received. Being a villain has become cool and sexy today, thanks to Don.

About Aamir Khan. Honestly, I have seen a handful of his movies. My whole family used to be his fans. I have also enjoyed a couple of the movies I watched of his, like Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, etc. But his acting never touched my heart and believe me, before 2007 at least, I used to watch a lot of movies and my favorite wasn't ONLY Shah Rukh back then. Yeah, big confession here. I used to adore all three Khans back then and would enjoy their movies. My last Aamir Khan movie was Ghajini which I watched last year I think. More than him, I enjoyed Asin's acting. Aamir's expressions never had enough impact on me as much as Shah Rukh's expressions do. What makes his acting stand out is perhaps his directors' hard work. Yeah, he definitely has worked with awesome directors.

About Salman Khan. I have enjoyed his movies like Kyon Ki, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In all his movies, his attitude stands out more than his acting or wait does he act? Anyway, I found him to be repetitive, both attitude wise and role wise. That's all there is to say about him.

To end this post, I'd like to present two notes. One, thank God Shah Rukh is no longer the only earner in the family of Bollywood...adopted children Aamir and Salman have started to contribute to the otherwise nearly homeless fraternity of Bollywood. Lastly, I know I didn't talk about each of these actors' non-filmy lives. It was deliberate because Shah Rukh is, was and will always be the better of the three stooges of Bollywood in real life.

Merci Beaucoup!