Who's a bigger star, Big B or Rajini?

New Delhi: At 58 Rajinikanth is the unchallenged badshah of Tamil cinema, and at 64, Amitabh Bachchan is still considered the shahenshah of Hindi films.

Both Rajinikanth and Amitabh began their careers in the 70s with bit roles and by late 70s and early 80s they were the reigning demi-gods of the Tamil and Hindi film industry respectively.

Over the years they have co-starred in hits like Andha Kanoon, Geraftaar and Hum and individually they have a fanatic fan following. Consider the hundreds who arrive in Mumbai every year to wish the Big B on his birthday or the kilometre long crowds that line up for hours each time a Rajini film releases.

Cult figures when it comes to popular culture, Amitabh had little luck when it came to winning in the political arena, while Rajini has only shown a guarded interest of being politically ambitious.

But fact is that though, Rajinikanth has been restricted to being a Tamil icon, Amitabh's popularity is pan Indian, thanks to the reach of Hindi films.

“Rajini sir is probably the biggest superstar the country has ever had. The fan following he has is unquestionable. But his ability to speak South Indian languages clearly conveyed to the masses that he is a South Indian (sic). So, it was difficult for him to play North Indian roles,” actor Madhavan said.

But the economics have a different tale to tell. According to sources while Amitabh may charge anything between Rs 3-4 crore per film, Rajinikanth's fee can go over Rs 10 crore including a share of box-office profits.

Amitabh's last solo starrer Cheeni Kum has done above average business having collected over Rs 6 crore at the Indian box-office in two weeks, while Rajini's last release Chandramukhi was a blockbuster with earnings estimated at Rs 60 crore.

Even in terms of fan following, Amitabh’s official fan clubs are restricted at a modest 18 across India but Rajinikanth has over 35,000 fan clubs in Tamil Nadu alone.

And while we have already seen eight Amitabh films in the last one year, Rajinikanth now only does one film every two years maintaining that reclusive exclusivity.

So who's the bigger star? There are no simple answers to that one and their fans may not be the best people to answer the question.

(With inputs from Veeraraghav in Chennai)

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