Tom Cruise recently turned 60. The biggest Hollywood celebrity of the past 30 years is starting to get old. He does appear to have been in existence forever. Nearly 40 years ago saw the release of some of his initial successes, and he dominated the box office for more than ten years. However, it seemed like Tom wasn’t exactly ruling the ticket window for the past fifteen years. Aside from the recurring Mission Impossible film, all of his other productions were either abject failures, forgettable or both. It did appear that Tom was attempting to hold onto a long-gone past as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other franchise behemoths advanced.
Tom had to cling to the past in order to bring his charm back. And he did it with Top Gun: Maverick, which is a mix of nostalgia and excitement. It updates the best elements of a cult classic for a contemporary audience. Above all else, the movie is excellent and was crafted especially for its 59-year-old actor.
On the other hand, Kamal Haasan starrer Vikram also had a dream run at the box office. Haasan’s first release in four years has emerged as one of the most successful Tamil films of all time. Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram, helmed by Lokesh Kanagaraj made over 400 crores worldwide, becoming the second Tamil film to achieve such a feat. The action thriller is a part of Kanagaraj’s own cinematic universe, which is modeled after the Marvel movies and is where various movies and characters will cross paths and benefit from one another in forthcoming movies.
Vikram was successful because Kamal Haasan played his age as a man in his 60s and Maverick was successful because Tom Cruise was cast as a man in his late 50s rather than a dashing hero in his 30s or 40s. These superstars have recovered after a dip, they have done so by portraying characters their own age.
Now, it’s Shah Rukh Khan’s turn to bring a lot of footfalls in the cinema halls as he is all set to make an exciting comeback after a break of 3 years from films. Khan has seen his last few films, including Zero, Jab Harry Met Sejal and Fan, fare poorly at the box office. But his upcoming line-up which has films including Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki look promising and sure-shot blockbusters.
After Tom Cruise and Kamal Haasan, King Khan is poised to once again conquer the box office and people’s hearts. The Superstar took his sweet time making a comeback by carefully choosing the scripts for his future movies, as evidenced by the teasers and posters that have already been released.
As for the movies, Pathaan is reportedly a part of Yash Raj Films’ spy universe and will feature SRK alongside Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. As if that weren’t enough, Salman will also make a cameo appearance in the movie as one of his characters from the Tiger series.
On the other hand, Shah Rukh Khan will collaborate with maverick director Rajkumar Hirani on the recently announced film Dunki. The movie will be one to keep an eye out for because it is allegedly based on the idea of “donkey flight,” an unlawful method of traveling to other countries.
Regarding Jawan, directed by Atlee, the movie stars Shah Rukh Khan in a never-before-seen action role. Its first look poster and teaser were just recently announced.
Shah Rukh Khan is playing his age in all of these films and he is not trying to romance younger actresses or any experiment like Zero or Fan. These are straightforward potboilers and almost sure shot money spinners.
Khan’s success is also very important for the health of Bollywood in India as well as overseas. May the KING make a royal comeback!
