Tom Cruise Is Proof That Stardom Can Be Regained; Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, Take Note

With the exception of a pandemic-hit 2020, every year in the last decade has seen a superhero movie or franchise become the highest-grossing movie of the year. It’s a list populated by Marvel and Star Wars movies, and Frozen ($1.2 billion in 2013). Long live Disney, I guess. But 2022 is determined to change the status quo. The year has seen the release of several big franchise movies. First came Robert Pattinson and his eyeliner in The Batman. Then Benedict Cumberbatch took fans on a weird trip through the Multiverse, and finally Chris Pratt brought the OG gang back for a Jurassic reunion. But all of these movies were outdone by Tom Cruise in an F-14 Tomcat. No, that’s not a typo and this isn’t 1986. But that happened and Top Gun: Maverick went over a billion dollars at the box office. The win has proven two things: You don’t always need a CGI-heavy blockbuster to rule the box office, and the superstars of the 20th century still have it. Also read: With Top Gun Maverick Tom Cruise reaffirms his superstar status

Tom Cruise turns 60 on Sunday. That is a great moment. The biggest Hollywood star of the last 30 years is entering the phase of the third age. It seems like it has been around forever. Some of his earliest hits were released nearly 40 years ago and he ruled the box office for more than a decade. But for the past decade and a half, it seemed like Tom wasn’t exactly at the ticket counter. In addition to the biennial title Mission Impossible, his other films have either been huge flops (Rock of Ages, The Mummy) or simply forgettable (Oblivion, Lions for Lambs). As the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other franchise giants moved on, it seemed like Tom was trying to hold on to a past that was long gone.

Few movie analysts floated the theory a few years ago that Hollywood no longer has superstars, only superheroes. And there may have been some merit to it. Robert Downey Jr has been the most bankable star of this era, but that’s largely due to the movies in which he’s Iron Man. When he’s been Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Dolittle, he hasn’t been ringing the cash registers. . The same goes for just about every other “superhero” actor, from Chris Hemsworth to Henry Cavill and Ryan Reynolds to Gal Gadot. The only exception to the rule has been Dwayne Johnson, who has managed to produce blockbusters following the Schwarzenegger-Salman formula: simply being himself on screen year after year.

However, it wasn’t like it was in the ’90s and 2000s. Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, and Johnny Depp all managed to be at the top of their game for some time, with Tom longer than others. And they did it by making a variety of movies over the years, many of which were franchises and some of which weren’t. But his stupid stardom meant that all those movies were highly anticipated, even historical ones like Valkyrie. Tom had to hold on to the past to bring that back. Top Gun: Maverick is part nostalgia, part adrenaline. It takes the best aspects of a cult classic and repackages them in a modern setting. And, above all, it is a very good film, tailor-made for its 59-year-old star. The year is still young and a Thor or an Avatar may still end up dethroning Maverick by the time 2023 rolls around. But so far, the fighter pilot has beaten several formidable superheroes to his account.

Tom’s rise and fall from stardom has parallels with the three Khans in Bollywood, or at least two of them. Aamir has been almost a reluctant and reclusive superstar for 20 years, doing his own thing. But Salman Khan and Shah Rukh lost their box office mojo at different times. Together, they dominated the box office for more than 20 years. However, for the past few years, they can hardly set foot on the right path. Tiger 3 and Pathaan may yet turn out to be the resurgence they’re looking for. But if they turn out to be Zero, it could be Antim’s chance to get them right.

So what lessons can you learn from Tom Cruise about asserting your stardom? For starters, they need to play his age. Maverick worked because Tom Cruise played a man in his 50s, not a swordsman in his 30s or 40s. Leave those roles to the Ranveers, Shahids and Hrithiks of the industry. Every time a Bollywood superstar has entered his second inning after a losing streak, he has done so playing characters his age, whether it be Dilip Kumar in Vidhaata or Karma or Amitabh Bachchan in Major Saab or Mohabbatein. And it would also help if it’s not about romantic heroines 20 years younger. Maverick had 51-year-old Jennifer Connelly, while Karma had 50-year-old Nutan paired with opposite actors from their mid-to-late 50s. The audience can accept that, but not when the romantic pairing starts giving off vibes to Hugh Hefner-Kimberley Conrad. Also read: Shah Rukh Khan is Bollywood’s latest superstar, here’s why

In all likelihood, Tom Cruise will also have blockbusters in the next couple of years with the two-part release of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in 2023 and 24. Beyond that, the actor will have to find ways to keep the momentum going. But it seems that after several mistakes, he has found the right path. There is no reason why Shah Rukh Khan and Salman cannot do the same. They are both smart actors, who have known what it takes to keep the audience not only engaged but hooked. All they need to do now is keep up with the changing times and come to terms with their aging bodies. And you need look no further than Tom Cruise for that.