Dharmendra: Bollywood's Most Successful Actor with 74 Hits Yet Labeled No 'Superstar

Dharmendra: Bollywood's Most Successful Actor with 74 Hits Yet Labeled No 'Superstar

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Success in cinema for lead actors can be measured in a few different ways. Some might say that the actor who rakes in the most money at the box office is the top dog. But that doesn’t really seem fair to the big names from the past, since inflation means that even smaller films today can earn more than the biggest hits from the 70s and 80s. Then there are those who believe that the actor with the most successful films deserves the title of the most successful. By that reasoning, one 'under-rated' actor could even outshine the likes of the Khans and Amitabh Bachchan to take the crown.

The top actor in Bollywood

Dharmendra stands out as the actor with the most hits in the Hindi film industry. He boasts an impressive record of 74 hits in films where he played a leading or significant role. His success comes from being more active than any of his peers or younger actors. Over a career that has lasted more than fifty years, Dharmendra has featured in over 240 films. Out of these, 94 were successful in terms of recovering their costs, and 74 are recognized as hits. This includes 7 blockbusters and 13 super hits, with Sholay being the biggest hit in Indian cinema history.

How Dharmendra stacks up against the 'superstars'

It might come as a shock to Amitabh Bachchan fans, considering he's often seen as the biggest star in Indian cinema. However, he actually has fewer hits than Dharmendra, racking up 56 hits from 153 films. Since he’s done fewer movies overall, his hit count is lower, even though his success rate is better. Among the Khans, Salman leads with 38 hits, followed by Shah Rukh at 34, and Aamir with 20. Other notable stars with impressive hit records include Jeetendra (56), Mithun Chakraborty (50), Rajesh Khanna (38), and Akshay Kumar (39).

Dharmendra was never labeled a superstar, and here's why

Dharmendra has always been a well-known figure in Hindi cinema, but he was never really seen as one of the top stars. The main reason for this was that he often played supporting roles to bigger names when he first started out. By the time he stepped into leading roles, most of his biggest successes were in multi-starrer films. In the 80s, he starred in a bunch of action hits, but they were mostly low-budget films that did well at the box office. In comparison, the hits from Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna made more money. So, even though he had a ton of hits and earned respect, Dharmendra was never quite on the same level as legends like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, or Dilip Kumar.

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