New generation stars take over Bollywood

The year 2019 had the best ratio of 22 films that managed to be either hit or, at least, sustain. The year saw five super hits in 'Uri: The Surgical Strike,' 'War,' 'Dream Girl,' 'Kabir Singh' and 'Good Newwz.' The hits of the year were as many as 15.

The two films that managed to remain above par were: 'Batla House' and 'Commando 3.'

The films which disappointed and belied the expectations were: 'Saand Ki Aankh,' 'Pagalpanti', 'Panipat', 'Dabaang 3' and 'Kalank.'

There were 132 also-ran kind of films, some of which defy logic as to why they were made at all!

However, the positive aspect is that a newer, younger lot of stars are taking over. Fortunately, these new stars are not yet slotted as action, comedy or romantic stars.

Luckily for them, they have been cast in a variety of roles and they have been carrying them through ably. Being slotted really limits a star's scope of showing versatility.

While Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan had no new releases this year, Salman had two -- "Bharat" in May and 'Dabaang 3' at the end of the year during Christmas.

While new generation actors have taken over, surprisingly it is the veteran of many films with a career spanning three decades -- Akshay Kumar -- is the one who is ruling the box-office.

The best thing about his films is that they are made within a stipulated budget and, hence, always prove cost-effective.

Young actor who scored a cent percent strike rate is Ayushmann Khurrana. All his three films released during the year hit the bull's eye.

While 'Article 15' and 'Bala' proved to be hits, 'Dream Girl' rates as a superhit.

Kartik Aaryan also had two releases, 'Luka Chuppi' and 'Pati Patni Aur Woh,' and both proved to be hits.

Vicky Kaushal started slow doing films like 'Masaan' in 2015 and 'Raazi' in 2018, followed by 'Sanju' the same year. He impressed in all three and got huge commercial success in 2019 with 'Uri: The Surgical Strike,' a superhit by all standards.

He will have to be careful about what projects he chooses in future.

Ranveer Singh carried forward his success story with one release, 'Gully Boy.' The film is a hit. He has an impressive line-up for thebNew Year in '83', 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar' and 'Sooryavanshi,' where he has a cameo.

Another actor, Rajkummar Rao, who is known to play varied roles though they may not always be centred on him, had three releases in 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga,' 'Judgemental Hai Kya' and 'Made In China,' scored zero as none of his three films worked at the box office.

Another young star who has established himself as a versatile actor -- Varun Dhawan -- had just one release this year, 'Kalank,' which failed.

Of the seniors, John Abraham has taken to playing a cop or a spy. While 'Batla House' was a face-saver, the other two – 'Romeo Akbar Walter' and 'Pagalpanti'-- did not work out.

Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor reasserted their standings this year. Hrithik, who one thinks is the cool guy who avoids the rat race, came up with two hits, 'Super 30' and a blockbuster in 'War'.

In the process, 'War' also elevated Tiger Shroff to a new high. The failure of his 'Student Of The Year 2' was more than compensated by 'War.'

Shahid Kapoor finally got his blockbuster in 'Kabir Singh.' Ajay Devgn managed with one hit, 'Total Dhamaal', and one flop, 'De De Pyar De.'