The box office gross is widely regarded as a reliable and universally accepted measure to assess a film actor’s popularity or stardom. The greater the revenue an actor can generate compared to their peers, the more significant their stardom. It comes as no surprise that among Indian actors, Shah Rukh Khan tops the list, with his films earning over Rs 4000 crore in India. However, when considering global earnings across various industries, another actor surpasses him by a remarkable margin.
Irrfan Khan, the late actor, is widely acknowledged as one of the finest Indian actors in history. He achieved remarkable success not only in Indian cinema but also on the global stage, featuring in several Hollywood blockbusters and Oscar-winning films. His presence in Hollywood has led to substantial earnings, with many of his major films grossing hundreds of millions of dollars, amounts that are beyond the reach of many Indian films. Specifically, his roles in American films such as ‘Jurassic World’, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and ‘Life of Pi’ have collectively earned an impressive $2.5 billion, equivalent to over Rs 22,350 crore. When combined with the collections from his Indian films, Irrfan’s overall global film earnings stand at an astounding Rs 25,000 crore.
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In contrast, the top-earning Indian leading man, Shah Rukh Khan, lags significantly behind with a total worth of Rs 8500 crore. The other two prominent Khans, Salman (Rs 7000 crore) and Aamir (Rs 6500 crore), are even further behind in earnings. Even when combining the worldwide gross of all three Khans, which amounts to Rs 22,000 crore, it falls short of Irrfan Khan’s impressive global earnings.
Irrfan Khan’s work in India included successful films such as New York, Haider, Hindi Medium, and Life in a Metro. However, despite being moderate hits, his box office returns from India totaled around Rs 2500 crore, a substantial but not record-breaking figure. It was in the mid-2000s that Irrfan ventured into major Hollywood productions, significantly impacting his global earnings. Blockbusters like Slumdog Millionaire, which earned $378 million (Rs 1670 crore), The Amazing Spider-Man with a gross of $758 million (Rs 4200 crore), and Jurassic World, a record-breaking $1.67 billion (over Rs 11,000 crore), contributed significantly to his overall tally. This combination of Indian and international success set Irrfan’s earnings apart, making it unparalleled for any other Indian actor.
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