India's biggest superstar with 50 blockbusters and 400 hits
Rajesh Khanna is considered the first superstar of Indian cinema with several blockbusters in a series. However, his stardom remained for a short period. Amitabh Bachchan emerged as the 'Angry Young Man' and took away the title. Currently, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are considered the last of traditional Bollywood superstars. Meanwhile, Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan and a few others from the South film industry are celebrated superstars with a fandom sprawling across the globe. Meanwhile, Thalapathy Vijay, Prabhas, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Yash and a few others are currently ruling the box office. However, none of them have a hundred hits over their careers. While Amitabh Bachchan has acted in around 200 films throughout his illustrious career, Rajinikanth has worked in around 200 films. However, India's biggest superstar has worked in over 900 movies and has 50 blockbusters and 400 hits to his name.
Well, India's biggest superstar is not from Bollywood, Tollywood (Telugu Film Industry) or Kollywood (Tamil Film Industry), which are the largest film-producing industries in the country. The biggest superstar that India has ever witnessed is Prem Nazir, the quintessential romantic hero and first celebrity of the Malayalam film industry.
Born Abdul Khader, Prem Nazir made his debut in 1952 with Marumakal. In his second film 'Visappintr Vili', he started using his screen name 'Prem Nazir'. Hailing from Chirayinkeezh in the Thiruvananthapuram district, Nazir achieved great success in the Indian film industry. With his romantic hero persona, Nazir had built a huge devoted fanbase. He achieved stardom with his stellar performances in movies including Murappennu, Udhyogastha, Iruttinte Athmavu, Kallichellamma, Virunnukari, Nadhi, C.I.D. Nazir, Anubhavangal Paalichakal, Taxi Car, Azhakulla Saleena, Nellu, Ariyappedatha Rahasyam, etc. to name a few.
Nazir emerged as the first true superstar of the Malayalam Film Industry in the early 1950s. Apart from working in 501 Malayalam films, he has also worked in 23 Tamil films. With this, Nazir holds a Guinness World Record for working in the highest number of movies (524) ever. Moreover, he also holds another world record for working alongside Sheela in around 100 films. Additionally, he teamed up with B. Sasikumar in over 74 movies. Nazir enjoyed superstardom until the early 80s.
After the mid-70s, Nazir was unable to recover. Despite that, 39 of his movies were released in 1979, which remains a record. Furthermore, he holds the record of playing the lead roles in around 700 movies and working with 85 different lead actresses. By the 80s, Nazir transitioned from lead to supporting roles. However, in his fifties, he was able to deliver successful movies.
Nazir passed away in 1989 after getting measles. With his unparalleled achievements, Nazir has set multiple records to reckon with in the Indian film industry.
For the unversed, legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan has 56 hits while Rajesh Khanna has 42 hits to his name. On the other hand, Shah Rukh and Salman have somewhere around 30 hits.