The 2020s have been a rollercoaster ride for Hindi cinema. While some superstars have staged historic comebacks, others have battled inconsistency, audience fatigue, or the pressure of reinventing themselves. Here’s a breakdown of the six most influential Bollywood stars of this decade, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and current standing.
🎬 Shah Rukh Khan
- Strengths: Global superstar, unmatched charisma, versatile across genres.
- Weaknesses: 2010s dip with flops, but bounced back spectacularly.
- Consistency (2020s): Huge comeback with Pathaan, Jawan, Dunki — 2023 was his year, making him Bollywood’s biggest force again.
🎬 Ranbir Kapoor
- Strengths: Natural actor, balances art and commerce, growing mass appeal.
- Weaknesses: Limited filmography (chooses few projects), can be inconsistent.
- Consistency (2020s): Brahmastra (hit despite mixed reviews), Animal (career-defining blockbuster). He’s in peak form now.
🎬 Salman Khan
- Strengths: Mass entertainer, box office guarantee during festive releases, loyal fanbase.
- Weaknesses: Script choices often criticized, limited versatility.
- Consistency (2020s): Mixed bag — Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan underperformed, Tiger 3 did decent. Still a major crowd-puller.
🎬 Ajay Devgn
- Strengths: Reliable, versatile (action, drama, comedy), strong screen presence.
- Weaknesses: Struggles with sustaining momentum — often follows a blockbuster with a flop.
- Consistency (2020s): Tanhaji (ATBB), Drishyam 2 (huge hit) but Runway 34 and Bholaa didn’t work. Still, among the most consistent faces of the decade.
🎬 Hrithik Roshan
- Strengths: Style icon, unmatched dancer, action hero with pan-India following.
- Weaknesses: Infrequent releases, dependent on big spectacles.
- Consistency (2020s): War (2019) was massive, Vikram Vedha struggled, but Fighter kept him in the A-league. His aura remains intact.
🎬 Akshay Kumar
- Strengths: Versatile (action, comedy, social dramas), disciplined actor with multiple releases per year, huge work ethic.
- Weaknesses: Overexposure due to too many films, audience fatigue, inconsistency in script choices.
- Consistency (2020s): Post-Sooryavanshi, faced a string of underperformers (Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, Ram Setu). Currently in a rebuilding phase.
⚖️ The Verdict
- Shah Rukh Khan has reclaimed the throne with record-breaking dominance.
- Ranbir Kapoor is the rising megastar of his generation.
- Salman Khan continues to hold sway over the mass audience, though not as unshakable as before.
- Ajay Devgn has been the most dependable star of this decade - always delivering major successes - but his box office graph remains streaky, with every big high often followed by a sharp low.
- Hrithik Roshan thrives on big-screen spectacles, even with fewer films.
- Akshay Kumar must slow down and reinvent to regain lost momentum.
In short: Bollywood’s power equation has shifted in the 2020s - comeback stories, fresh peaks, and the struggle for consistency define this decade.
