Bollywood Shahenshah vs. Kollywood Thalaiva: Who Does It Best?

Indian cinema has seen its fair share of legends.

Two out of them – Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth – are the most active today.

It was only recently revealed that the latter beat the former as the King of Indian cinema and would be honoured with the Centenary Award for Indian Personality of the Year.

Where fans of ‘Thalaiva’ would not think of it as surprising, ardent admirers of ‘Big B’ would be open for a debate.

Both individuals have represented their respective acting industries for over three decades. Isn’t it about time that we reached to a conclusion as to which one out of the two is great?

Debut

Amitabh Bachchan made his debut, as a voice actor in Bhuvan Shome (1969). Rajinikanth, on the other hand, starred in Apporva Raagangal (1975), a K. Balachander project. The common distinction that their debuts hold is that both films won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in their respective years of release.

Number of Movies

 

Where the Bollywood star has acted in over 200 films in his career span, the superstar of Kollywood has starred in over 170 movies. Though Amitabh Bachchan has worked six years more than Rajinikanth, his international fame and projects like The Great Gatsby give him an edge over his adversary.

Filmfare Awards

 

Amitabh Bachchan has been nominated for a total of 39 Filmfare Awards in various categories with 14 wins, which is the most in any major acting category. Rajinikanth, on the other hand, has been nominated for 3 Filmfare Awards with one win.

Television Career

 

‘Big B’ has hosted the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati on five different occasions and Big Boss during its season 3 run. Rajinikanth has never made television appearance before.

National Film Award

 

In the National Film Award category, Amitabh Bachchan again reigns supreme, as his tally of three awards is higher than two awards of Rajinikanth.

Endorsements and Social Media

 

In regards to endorsements and social media, it is again Amitabh Bachchan who makes his presence felt more than Rajinikanth. Mr. Bachchan has his own Facebook and Twitter account in addition to his personal blog.

We can make several other comparisons to determine who out of the two is the better legend. As per above mentioned statistics, Amitabh Bachchan clearly emerges as the winner.

But if photos were anything to go by…