“A superstar is made, created; carefully and cold-bloodedly built up from nothing, from nobody. ” – Louis B Mayer, co-founder of Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Hollywood studios deliberately created the phenomenon of “Superstars” to boost ticket sales.
Carl Laemmle recognized early on that movie stars could drive massive box-office success. Having understood that audience went to movies to see the actors, he lured the incredibly popular but anonymous Florence Lawrence away from the Biograph studio. He promised to make her famous under her own name. She signed with his company, Independent Moving Pictures (IMP). IMP eventually grew into the Hollywood giant Universal Studios.
Before he cast her in his movies though, he spread a rumor that she had been killed in an accident. When her fans were devastated, he took out an ad titled “Nailing a Lie”. Through the ad he said that she was very much alive, and that in fact she would be the star of his forthcoming movie.
And that movie – The Broken Oath – was the first Hollywood movie to have an actor on the marquee. With this, Laemmle fulfilled the promise he made to Lawrence.
The Launching of the First Superstar
In a publicity event at St Louis to launch the movie, he introduced Florence Lawrence to the audience. They knew her as the incredibly popular “Biograph Girl”. Laemmle revealed her real name, and revealed that she will be on the marquee. The audience instantly mobbed her, and almost tore the buttons off her jacket.
The Broken Oath paved the way for the “star system”. The studio carefully built a larger than life persona around their star and manufactured mass hysteria and fan following.
Florence Lawrence became the first movie artist to be described as a “superstar”. Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Rudolf Valentino were some of the other early claimants of the title.
The studios got a huge publicity bonanza with the launching of fan magazines like Photoplay and The Motion Picture Magazine. The box office collections skyrocketed.
Andy Warhol popularized the term “superstars” for a group of artistes who worked in his studio (The Factory). Notable Warhol superstars include Gerard Malanga, Mary Woronov and Edie Sedgwick.
What Makes an Actor a Superstar?
There is probably no universally accepted definition of a superstar. Fans often describe their particular favorite actors as “superstars” regardless of box office collections. And they dispute the legitimacy of that title for an actor they do not like.
In my view, superstars exhibit some or all of these characteristics –
- Unparallelled Box Office Draw – A superstar has a continuous string of superhit movies. Even their flop movies fare better than many successful low budget movies. They dominate the list of top 10 earning movies each year.
- Enormous Clout – Superstars can dictate terms including profit sharing, choice of costars, influence over the script and music, and more.
- Halo Effect – Costars in their movies get a boost in their careers even when their roles are relatively insignificant.
- Fiercely Loyal Fan Base – Fans become fanatically devoted to superstars. They emulate their mannerisms, and even get emotionally attached to them. In some cases, the fans erect monuments to their favorite actor or even ritually get married to them.
- Larger Than Life Persona – Their personal lives, relationships and even fashion choices generate mass hysteria among their fandom. Audience identifies them with instantly recognizable nicknames like Big B or Kaka.
- Celebrity Brand Equity – The actor’s name and image become a powerful monetizable tool for mass marketing. When they become brand ambassadors for a product, consumers associate the product with the perceived quality and consistency of the actor. The Kroll Celebrity Valuation Report explicitly compiles the branding value of Indian celebrities.
The Superstar Phenomenon in Bollywood
Early Indian cinema closely mirrored Hollywood’s studio system. Major production houses like Bombay Talkies, New Theatres, and Prabhat Film Company controlled every aspect of filmmaking, placing actors under exclusive contracts and employing in-house crews.
Over time, however, the Indian concept of the “superstar” developed more organically than Hollywood’s studio-driven star machine—even if savvy PR and publicity stunts occasionally propelled certain actors to fame.
Star System in the Golden Era (1950 to 1970)
Independent film makers overshadowed big studios in the Golden Era. Many actors became producers and directors of their own films. Production companies like RK Films, Bimal Roy Productions, Navketan Films, Mehboob Productions etc produced many successful movies. Independent production houses gave greater scope for the actors, singers and other artists to share the limelight.
From the 1950s through the late 1960s, no single actor dominated Indian cinema. Instead, a triumvirate ruled the industry: Raj Kapoor (the lovable tramp), Dilip Kumar (the tragedy king), and Dev Anand (the suave charmer). Each carved out a distinct niche and built a massive fan base. While other contemporary actors carved out successful careers, none truly eclipsed the “Big 3,” and the title of “superstar” remained unclaimed.
Rajesh Khanna’s Entry
All of this changed after Jatin Khanna, an unknown young man, won the All India Talent Contest in 1965. United Producers and Filmfare jointly olrganized this contest, and the prize was an opportunity to act in movies.
Thus it was that Jatin Khanna, now adopting the screen name of Rajesh Khanna, made his debut in Chetan Anand’s Aakhri Khat. His first six movies from Aakhri Khat to Ittefaq were either outright flops or moderate successes.
The First Superstar in Hindi Cinema
After a series of flops, Rajesh Khanna acted in Shakti Samanta’s Aradhana in 1969. Shakti was one of the judges of the Talent Contest. He chose Rajesh Khanna as the lead opposite Sharmila Tagore for his romantic drama .
The movie itself was heroine oriented, with Sharmila Tagore as the intended star. Rajesh Khanna had a less significant role as her lover who dies in an accident, leaving her pregnant with their child. A script like that normally does not give much scope for the hero to get noticed.
But two things changed everything.
First was that Rajesh Khanna finally found his sweet spot. He played the role of an Air Force Officer who woos and wins over Vandana, the daughter of a doctor. The role called for a charming, affable boy with a smile that any girl would instantly fall in love with. And his natural instincts and mannerisms were tailor made for this persona. His characteristic head shake, sparkling eyes and brilliant smile won not just the heart of the heroine in the movie, but of thousands of young girls across the country. Girls thronged to the movie, and mobbed him wherever he went. Some even married his photograph.
And the second was the mesmerising combination of S D Burman, Kishore Kumar and Anand Bakshi. They created songs that took the country by storm. “Mere Sapno Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu”, “Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera” and “Roop Tera Mastana” became instant hits, firmly entrenching Rajesh Khanna as the friendly neighborhood lover boy in people’s minds.
Aradhana was the beginning of an unprecedented run of seventeen successive silver jubilees. Aradhana was followed by Do Raaste, Bandhan, The Train, Saccha Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Kati Patang and many more all the way until Apna Desh in 1972.
Rajesh Khanna and Mass Hysteria
The way girls – and even middle aged women – fawned over him was legendary. They wrote love letters to him with their blood. Some married his photograph. If he fell sick, they applied Eau De Cologne to his photograph. Both men and women wore his famous “guru shirts”.
About the guru shirts, I think this might be the only instance in Cinema history when a male actor’s fashion choice set markets on fire. It is said that Baldev Pathak, father of Rathna and Supriya Pathak designed these shirts.
According to Sharmila Tagore who was his co-star in Aradhana, on the sets of the movie “it got impossible to walk from the makeup room to the set without getting mobbed. The entire area used to be crammed with girls who’d fall all over him.”
To this day, Rajesh Khanna holds the record for the most continuous superhit films. Between 1969 and 1973, 17 of his movies were among the top 10 grossing movies of each year. 9 of them were among the top 5. Producers would wait for months to get his dates rather than go with another actor. His fame reached unprecedented heights. In a BBC documentary titled “Bombay Superstar” he was described as an actor with the charisma of Rudolf Valentino and the ego of Napolean.
The mass hysteria and the intensity of fan following earned him the title of “superstar” in film magazines.
The Angry Young Man Era
Rajesh Khanna’s reign as the dominant superstar lasted four years until 1973. He continued making movies well into the eighties, but by 1973 a new superstar began to emerge.
During his reign as superstar, Rajesh Khanna co-starred with the then up and coming actor Amitabh Bachchan in two movies – Anand and Namak Haram. Amitabh was the second lead in both movies. In both of these movies, Amitabh acted as a serious, brooding person. This was in sharp contrast to the bubbly effusive persona of Rajesh Khanna. Amitabh won the Best Supporting Actor Award for both movies. Rajesh Khanna won the Best Actor Award for Anand.
Many people have noted that the time between Anand (1971) and Namak Haram (1973) was the transition of the title of “superstar” from Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bachchan. The archetype of the charming romantic optimist was giving way to that of the angry young man.
Salim Javed’s Role in the Transition
In 1973, Amitabh was still a struggling actor with a string of flops. It was not that people did not like his performances – he did win two Filmfare Awards. But he did not fit the mold of the romantic hero, which was the dominant wave at that time.
Then came Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who in many ways shook the foundation of the industry. A struggling actor and a struggling dialogue writer met on the sets of the movie Sarhadi Lootera, and became friends.
In a story reminiscent of the friendship between Gurudutt and Dev Anand, the two of them teamed up and decided to ditch their sagging careers to become script writers.
Interestingly, it was Rajesh Khanna who gave them their break by recommending them to M M Chinappa Devar, the producer of Haathi Mere Saathi. They went on to write scripts for successful movies like Andaz, Seeta Aur Geeta and Yaadon Ki Baaraat.
But the turning point in their career came in 1973 with Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer.
There is an interesting backstory about the making of this movie in this video by Amit Agrawal. Salim Javed wrote this script and sold it to Dharmendra. He in turn gave it to Prakash Mehra, who liked it and decided to make the movie.
The Birth of a New Superstar
Casting the hero for Zanjeer turned out to be an issue. The character was a hard nosed unglamorous individual who does not even smile through most of the movie. Many stars including Dharmendra, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna and Raj Kumar rejected the role. Finally Salim Javed suggested the name of Amitabh Bachchan after seeing his fight sequences in Bombay To Goa.
And that casting decision created the next superstar of Hindi Cinema. Just as the role in Aradhana was uniquely suited to Rajesh Khanna’s natural instincts, the role of Inspector Vijay in Zanjeer was uniquely suited to Amitabh Bachchan’s natural instincts. A tall, brooding young man with intense expressions and a voice meant to express repressed anger was exactly what was needed for this role. Looking back, one has to wonder if the movie would have been as successful if any of the other heroes had agreed to play the role.
But it was not just that he looked the part and was best suited for it. Something bigger was happening with the audience. Just as they were getting tirred of the maudlin sentimental mush that was getting dished out in the late sixties before Aradhana came around, by 1973 they were also getting tired of the boy-meets-girl-and-falls-in-love formula behind virtually every movie since Aradhana.
Early seventies was also the beginning of disenchantment with the establishment, and people wanted to see someone who would fight with the big bad world.
If we’re talking about superstars, we should probably count Salim Javed as superstars too. They saw this trend before anyone else, and wrote just the script for it. And they found just the right person to play the part.
The Fall of Rajesh Khanna
Rapid rise to the top came at a cost for Rajesh Khanna. Success changed his personality in many ways. The simple unassuming Punjabi boy who participated in the Talent Contest in 1966 became a temperamental and arrogant star who often made unreasonable demands on the producers. He surrounded himself with sycophants with whom he partied all night and arrived late for shootings the next day.
He stepped on the toes of many people in his arrogance, including Amitabh Bachchan and Salim Javed. There are some well documented episodes, such as his behavior on the sets of Bawarchi and the dispute during the shooting of Namak Haram.
His fallout with Salim Javed is interesting, considering that he was the one who gave them their big break in Haathi Mere Saathi. It has been said that Rajesh Khanna approached Salim Javed and asked them to write scripts exclusively for his films. When they refused, the fallout was bitter, and Rajesh Khanna felt that they had an axe to grind against him.
Producers still thronged to him as long as the hits kept coming. It was when his movies started flopping that his world changed. After an incredible run of hits, seven successive movies flopped, starting with Joroo Ka Ghulam in 1972. He did have a hit in 1973 (Daag), but by then the spell was broken. He was no longer the invincible box office magnet that could throw temper tantrums with no consequence.
Another major factor contributed to his downfall. Rajesh Khanna could never get out of the romantic hero typecast. To be fair, he himself never really wanted to do anything else. When Prakash Mehra offered the role of Inspector Vijay in Zanjeer, he refused as the hero had no songs and it was not a glamorous role.
The Transition
Mid seventies was the time of great discontent. Popular movements against corruption ultimately resulted in the imposition of emergency. The audience was hungry for movies that reflected those turbulent times.
The times were changing, and Rajesh Khanna was unable to meet the moment. Even in serious movies like Roti, he focused on romance and songs.
His mannerisms that once caused girls to write love letters in blood now looked oddly out of pace with the mood of the country.
Salim Javed were one of the first to recognize the change of the tide. They found the ideal icon to reflect the angst of the nation. They wrote script after script centered around Amitabh Bachchan, and the legend of the Angry Young Man was born.
The Rise of Amitabh Bachchan
After Zanjeer, there was no looking back for Amitabh. He was popular in ways that were very different from that of Rajesh Khanna. He didn’t have fawning girls falling over him. But he did have sustained audience loyalty and mass worship that spanned multiple demographics and age groups. People emulated his voice, his hairstyle and his Bhagwan Dada like dancing style.
The entire nation rallied behind him when he met with a serious accident on the sets of the movie Coolie. People organized public prayers and walked on their knees to the Siddhi Vinayak Temple. More than 60 liters of blood was donated by fans at the Breach Candy Hospital for his surgery.
He consolidated his position not through charishma and charm, but with assiduous discipline. In contrast to Rajesh Khanna, he always arrived on time at the sets, and generally maintained cordial but formal relationships with his co-stars.
Unlike Rajesh Khanna, he did not get trapped in the image that catapulted him to fame. Even though people remember him mostly as the Angry Young Man, at the top of his game, he dabbled in romance movies (Kabhi Kabhi, Kasme Vade and Silsila), comedy movies (Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony and Satte Pe Satta), and even sensitive artistic movies (Abhiman, Mili and Alaap).
From 1973 to 1982, Amitabh had 32 movies in the Top 10 grossing movies list. 20 of them were in the Top 5 and 4 were the top grossing films of the year. He dominated the boxoffice so thoroughly that all five of the Top 5 grossers in 1978 were Amitabh movies.
The Fall of Amitabh Bachchan
Neither the rise nor the fall of Amitabh Bachchan was as dramatic as that of Rajesh Khanna. His rise blended with the changing tide of the movie industry in the mid ’70s.
His decline came in the late eighties for two reasons.
The first and obvious reason was that it was hard for a middle aged actor to pass off as an “angry young man”. Movies like Toofan, Jaadugar and Main Azaad Hoon failed at the boxoffice.
The audience were tired of the vigilante justice trope, and were looking for something fresh. And that came in the form of Amir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya and Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar. With the entry of the Khans, Bollywood once again went back to a triumvirate ruling the industry, just like in the Golden Era.
The second was a foolhardy business decision on his part. The Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) was an ambitious venture created by him. ABCL produced and distributed movies, and managed celebrity events.
After seeing some initial success with movies like Tere Mere Sapne, the company went on to host the 1996 Miss World Competition. This proved to be a mistake as they piled up huge losses, ending with Amitabh Bachchan declaring bankruptcy. He lost all of his fortune and was saddled with a debt of 90 crores.
In desperation, he approached his friend Yash Chopra to give him a comeback role in movies. Yash obliged and cast him as the strict principal of the gurukul in Mohabbatein. This proved to be a good move. More than fifty years since his debut he is still a much sought after actor, albeit in character roles.
Conclusion
There are many interesting parallels between the career trajectories of Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Both of them were initially written off as failures, with a string of flops to their credit. They were presented a generational opportunity in a movie to swim against the tide of the genres that were then in vogue. In each case, someone saw the potential in them that the rest of the industry failed to see.
At their peak, both of them checked all the criteria I listed above to qualify to be superstars. They had unmatched boxoffice draw, enormous clout with the film makers and the industry in general, a fiercely loyal fan base that to this day goes to bat for them, a larger than life persona, and unprecedented celebrity equity.
I wrote this article partly out of pure nostalgia for the days when I used to stand hours in line to watch a movie by either of these actors. But I also wrote this to highlight the cyclical nature of audience tastes, and the ultimate impermanence of fame and fortune.
Tell us your favorite recollections of these stars in the comments section below.
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