This actor gave more hits than the Khans, Rajesh Khanna, and Akshay Kumar, which included India's biggest overseas hit ever
The term superstar is an arbitrary one at best. There is hardly ever a consensus on who can be called one and who shouldn’t be. In the age of intensive PR, almost every successful actor is labelled a superstar. But there was a time, just 25-30 years ago, when most industry insiders in Bollywood agreed on the definition, and the term was reserved for a handful of actors in the history of Hindi films. Funnily enough, one man who had more hits than all his contemporaries, was never given the title.
The man who wasn’t called a superstar despite 50 box office hits
Mithun Chakraborty began his film journey in the 70s with Mrigayaa, which fetched him a National Award. By the 80s, he established himself as a box office force, starting with Disco Dancer and continuing with several solo and multi-starrer hits. Over the course of his career, Mithun has acted in 270 Bollywood films, of which 51 have been hit at the box office, including three blockbusters as well. Yet, the tag of superstar was never used for him.
How Mithun beat superstars at box office
Mithun’s seniors like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna were called that, while juniors like Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir, and Akshay Kumar were also considered superstars. Interestingly, after from Bachchan, none of these names had as many hits as Mithun. Rajesh Khanna followed suit with 42, Akshay has 39, Salman 38, and Shah Rukh 34. However, all of them have done significantly fewer films than Mithun, which makes their hit-loss ratio much better.
When Mithun Chakraborty gave India’s biggest overseas hit
Mithun was also the star who founded the 100-crore club with his blockbuster Disco Dancer. The film was a hit in India, grossing little over Rs 6 crore, a sizable sum in the early 80s. But a couple of years later, the film released in the Soviet Union, where it broke all earning records, grossing over Rs 94 crore, and taking its worldwide total to Rs 101 crore. This record stood for over a decade till broken by Hum Aapke Hain Koun. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, Disco Dancer is still the highest-grossing Indian film overseas, ahead of the likes of Dangal and Secret Superstar.
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