Birthday Special: With 5 All Time Grossers, Aamir Khan is the KING of ATG, defeating the Rest of Bollywood

Aamir Khan convincingly scores over Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and the rest of Bollywood. Here's how

Himesh Mankad
Written by Himesh Mankad , Journalist
Updated on Mar 15, 2021 | 11:17 AM IST | 374.4K
Birthday Special: With 5 All Time Grossers, Aamir Khan is the KING of ATG, defeating the Rest of Bollywood
Birthday Special: With 5 All Time Grossers, Aamir Khan is the KING of ATG, defeating the Rest of Bollywood

When we speak of Aamir Khan, we instantly resonate with quality cinema, such is the image that the actor has built over his 30 year plus journey in Bollywood. He has mastered in the LED formula – Laughter Emotion Drama – with Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, PK and Dangal among others. While liking and disliking a film is subjective, an aspect where Aamir comfortably scores over the rest of Bollywood is his consistency in delivering the “All Time Grossers” meaning, the biggest blockbuster of all time in history of Hindi cinema.

From 1943 till 2021, Hindi cinema has delivered 16 All Time Grossers, Kismat, Barsaat, Aan, Shree 420, Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, Hum Aapke Hai Koun, Gadar, Dhoom 2, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Chennai Express, Dhoom 3, PK and Dangal. The two other rather conflicting probable All Time Grossers include Maine Pyaar Kiya and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, with different section of media, putting them in different sections, but for now, let’s stick to the sure shot all time grossers of Hindi cinema. A classification on these two films from the reliable trade portal is yet awaited.

From 1943 till 2021, Hindi cinema has delivered 16 All Time Grossers, Kismat, Barsaat, Aan, Shree 420, Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, Hum Aapke Hai Koun, Gadar, Dhoom 2, Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Chennai Express, Dhoom 3, PK and Dangal.

A glimpse at the list and one can easily see the Aamir Khan impact, with 5 of the total 16 all time grossers in last 78 years belonging to him. To put it in percentage terms, he dominates 31% of the market share in the list of All Time Grossers, comfortably scoring over the stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra and his contemporaries, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. While Aamir has 5 ATG’s, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor have 2 each whereas Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol, Ashok Kumar, Nargis/Sunil Dutt, and Hrithik Roshan have one each. The rest of Bollywood is yet to open their account when it comes to delivering All Time Grossers. In-fact, over the last 13 years, it has always been Aamir surpassing his own record in terms of All Time Grosser with his next film, with an exception being, Chennai Express in 2013.

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3 Idiots went past the collection of Ghajini, Dhoom 3 went past the collections of Chennai Express, PK surpassed Dhoom 3 and finally, Dangal emerged an all-time grosser by defeating PK. It has been 5 years since the release of Dangal, and the industry now awaits Laal Singh Chaddha to challenge or may be even surpass the biz of Dangal, though a lot depends on the Covid scenario towards the year end. What leads to these unheard records for Aamir Khan films is the goodwill and trust factor he commands among the audience. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that there is no one bigger than Aamir when it comes to giving out a stamp of trust to the audience about the quality of cinema.

In-fact, over the last 13 years, it has always been Aamir surpassing his own record in terms of All Time Grosser with his next film, with an exception being, Chennai Express in 2013.

A glimpse at his filmography and one could find maximum films from all his contemporaries that have stood the test of time, and are watchable or rather, rewatchable even today. From Sarfarosh to Hum Hai Raahi Pyaar Ke, Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander, Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin, Andaz Apna Apna, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, PK and Dangal – Aamir Khan has more often than not delivered, and one can easily forget the Thugs of Hindostan that he does in between. Such is his goodwill within the trade, that the industry is already expecting an “Aamir Khan Classic” from Laal Singh Chaddha, and another i.e. 6th All Time Grosser from Mr. Perfectionist, by probably opening the Rs 400 crore box-office club for Bollywood. For those who don’t know, Aamir is the founder member of 100 crore, 150 crore, 200 crore, 250 crore, 300 crore, and 350 crore club at the box-office in Bollywood.

Here’s hoping, he opens the 400-crore club this Christmas and continues to make us laugh, cry and experience different forms of emotions with his cinema. Happy Birthday Aamir Khan.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Aamir Khan and RS Prasanna discussing the Spanish film, Campeones adaptation

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