Why stars from the 90s continue to rule the roost on big screen!

'Fame is not the glory! Virtue is the goal, and fame only a messenger, to bring more to the fold.”

--Vanna Bonta, Degrees: Thought Capsules

There are many stars in the galaxy, but just a handful which make the beautiful formation of the Orion. Well, to put it in layman's terms—there are many who come and go, but only a lucky few who stay back and continue to rule the roost when it comes to the glittering world of show business.

Our Hindi film industry has seen many superstars, right from Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna to Dev Anand, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan—all have enjoyed their share of limelight and still have a huge fan base.

But if you talk about the Khan trinity—Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir—you can safely assume that they are going to sit on their thrones forever and ever, just like a fairytale. Besides these three—the popular faces from the 90s era, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn are the other two actors, who like their contemporaries are still quite successful in running the race.

What is it that this bunch of actors from the 90s has in them? What makes them unstoppable? Is it their undying passion for the art or their impeccable talent to recreate their persona with the changing times. The answer is not that simple. A lot goes into making an actor, the star which he aspires to eventually become.

It's not as if SRK, Salman, Aamir, Akki or Ajay gained their super stardom overnight. It has been a collective effort on the part of their team, who stood by them and their vigour to excel in their respective genres. The ocean of fan following, which these actors enjoy, is not bound by any semantic border or geographical periphery.

The love, admiration, respect and frenzy which this cream of actors attract is unmatched by any of the younger stars. Interestingly, today whenever a newcomer makes his début on the big screen—his comparison with the stalwarts is inevitable.

I remember when Hrithik Roshan had stormed into Bollywood with 'Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai' in 2000, he was seen as a tough competitor for SRK. B-Town's Greek God Hrithik was pitted against an actor who had already spent a decade in the industry. How fair was that?

But then, there were a series of flops which Hrithik had to face before he rose to fame again with 'Koi Mil Gaya'. Today Hrithik is secure as an actor in the Hindi film industry and has his own share of fan following.

Again, in 2007 when Ranbir Kapoor made his début with 'Saawariya', he was believed to be a potential threat to the Khan trinity. Ranbir did impress all with his superb acting and dashing good looks, but then there need to be at least five others like Ranbir to be at par with the 'dynamic five' heroes (SRK, Salman, Aamir, Akshay and Ajay).

Ranbir is undoubtedly the most promising of the lot, who still has a lot to achieve and conquer. It is not to say that the new generation is any less than the biggies—be it Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Ranveer Singh or Shahid Kapoor—all have the potential to create their own team of 'dynamic fives' or more. But, when we talk about the calibre of our 'dynamic five'— no one even stands near enough to challenge what they have achieved and sustained so far.

I call them the 'dynamic five' because for me they justify the real sense of the term. The kind of appreciation and love which the fans across the globe have for them, is a clear indicator of how tremendously influential their stardom is.

Even today, while pulling each other's leg, friends continue to say, 'Are you Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan that somebody will listen to you'? All this might be said in jest, but it brings out the fact that these stars are an intricate part in our sub-conscious, to the extent that we refuse to think beyond them.

There can never be another 'dynamic five', but then - 'never say no' in showbiz. We might see another constellation of stars with their unmatched talent ruling the silver screen. Till such time, we shall continue to shower our love on the reel 'superheroes' from the 90s—Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir, Akshay and Ajay.

No matter what the clock says, the 'dynamic five' are blessed with a magic wand to give time a skip!