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1h ago

IMDb’s 25-Year Indian Cinema Report Charts Evolving Stardom, South’s Surge and Global Breakouts

The findings point to mass-market southern productions gaining momentum, with stardom recalibrated to fewer, bigger bets under director-led, pan-language releases.

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Overview

  • IMDb analyzed the five most popular Indian films from each year between 2000 and August 31, 2025—130 titles rooted in page views and over 9.1 million user ratings from more than 250 million monthly users.
  • Shah Rukh Khan appears most across the dataset with 20 of 130 films, while Deepika Padukone leads female presence with 10, as the report notes stars now deliver fewer projects and act as multipliers of strong films.
  • The study highlights South Indian industries powering recent popularity, frames “language as a genre” for audience expectations, and cites 12th Fail as a rare Hindi film resonating strongly in southern states.
  • Aamir Khan dominates true crossover territory, with 3 Idiots ranked IMDb’s most popular Indian movie worldwide; RRR leads in the U.S., while titles like Dangal and Taare Zameen Par top other key markets.
  • Directors Lokesh Kanagaraj, S.S. Rajamouli, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani and Farhan Akhtar each place four films in the set, as Deepika Padukone’s comment about challenging norms draws attention following her recent project exits.