L to R - Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar. Photo Credit: Sawf News

 Having clawed their way up to superstardom, actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar intend to stay there and will not readily concede their pedestals to sons, daughters, nephews and nieces with famous last names and silver spoons in the mouths.

When Sanjay Dutt or Shah Rukh entered the big bad world of Bollywood in their mid-20s it was a long way to go to gain the stature of superstars. The same goes for Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay Kumar for whom climbing the Bollywood ladder has been a struggle.

In today’s world when the opportunities for entertainment are many, an actor’s shelf life is extremely short and public memory even shorter; it is indeed commendable that these stars continue to rule the roost.

Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood actresses always had a shortlived career, once married they were typecast to roles of the actresses’ sister or even the hero’s mother. But now things are slowly changing and Bollywood actresses are making what is called a comeback.

Bollywood seems to be going the Hollywood way where the top Hollywood actors including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Demi Moore and Julia Roberts are all above 40 and still the most sought after.

Unlike Hollywood, however, Bollywood stars are reluctant to play saucy roles as they age. It is nearly impossible to imagine Madhuri Dixit doing a Sharon Stone. And when Amitabh Bachchan got a little naughty in Nishabd his character had to go through hell and was subjected to dime-a-dozen lessons on morality.

Here is hoping that with the need for films to bring novelty for the ever-evolving audiences, Bollywood will test new waters.