From Shahid Kapoor to Aamir Khan, these 5 Bollywood actors took cue from south to become superpowers

Shahid Kapoor is in the league of Bollywood superstars Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan who scored their first centuries with remakes of hit south Indian movies.

Several south Indian movies were remade in Hindi in recent times and most of them proved to be hit at the box office. The Bollywood industry was trolled for taking inspiration from southern movies. But one thing is clear that some of these remakes have helped a few Bollywood actors position themselves in the list of top stars of Hindi film industry. What is more interesting is that the three Khans are among those actors.

It all started with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who is considered as Mr Perfectionist today. His 2008 movie Ghajini was a Hindi adaptation of AR Murugadoss' 2005 hit Tamil film of the same name. This Murugadoss-directed Bollywood film not only became a big hit at the box office but also invented the club of Rs 100 crore movies in the Hindi film industry.

Superstar Salman Khan was suffering from back-to-back failures when he decided to remake a southern to bring back his fallen glory. He was right in his decision as his 2009 film Wanted, which was a remake of Mahesh Babu's Telugu film Pokiri, became a blockbuster success at the box office. It not only brought back his stardom but also registered his name in the Rs 100 crore club.

Ajay Devgn has done a couple of memorable film series and the Singham series is one of them. Singham was a remake of the 2010 Tamil film of the same name featuring Suriya and Anushka Shetty. The 2011 movie is one of big hit films of his career and the second film to enter Rs 100 crore club after Golmaal 3 (2010).

Shah Rukh Khan's 2013 film Chennai Express may not be a remake of a southern film, but its soul story is set in south India. This movie, which collected Rs 226.70 crore net in the domestic market, is the highest grossing flick for SRK. The Bollywood superstar has registered two of his films in the club of Rs 200 crore movies.

The latest B-Towner to take inspiration from south India is none other than Shahid Kapoor, whose recent release Kabir Singh is a remake of Vijay Devarakonda's blockbuster Telugu film Arjun Reddy. Kabir Singh has not only become the biggest opener for the actor but is also set to become his first solo film to cross Rs 100 crore mark.

Talking about south inspiration, Sumit Kadel says, "That is the impact of south films we have seen in Bollywood in the last 10-15 years. Their films have made and saved careers of our stars without an iota of doubt."