Time was when in the 1980s, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth (then spelt Rajnikant!) arrived with a bang in Hindi cinema with their respective blockbusters, Ek Duuje Ke Liye and Andhaa Kaanoon.
The novel element, the music and more catapulted them to instant stardom, something that had never happened when Gemini Ganesan (interestingly Rekha’s father, who had done a few films like Devta, Miss Mary, Raj Tilak and Nazrana) and Sivaji Ganesan (who did Manohar and cameos in Schoolmaster and Dharti) had come into Hindi terrain. Sivaji also produced the Hindi film, Gauri. A. Nageshwara Rao, also from the Tamil film industry, acted in Alladdin Ka Chirag and Suvarna Sundari and produced Rani Aur Jaani and Prem Tapasya.
Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth rapidly went on a film-signing spree alongside the star-sons Kumar Gaurav, Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol in the 1980s when the industry was searching for new faces as stars. But both heroes, while maintaining and, in fact, enhancing, their star-power down South, soon lost the Hindi race. Many films were shelved because several flopped, though Rajinikanth, on the strength of the action dramas that were in vogue, remained in the reckoning in multi-hero projects featuring everyone from Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan to Rishi Kapoor, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor through the 1990s. They even co-starred in Geraftaar (1985), with Rajinikanth in a guest role.
Kamal’s last Hindi successes were the dubbed Appu Raja (1990) and Hindustani (1996), though he did many other such films. Rajinikanth scored in the millennium when his Sivaji (2007) became a huge hit when dubbed and later Robot (2010) and its sequel, 2.0 (2018), which joined the 100-crore club.
After them, for a transient phase, some heroes got a film or two, but today, the times when they were considered weighty enough to star solo are gone. The other South faces got a mixed fate, and pan-Indian (read dubbed or made in multiple languages) movies have had a variegated response.
(The South heroines were, however, always welcomed with open arms, and Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Hema Malini, Rekha, Sridevi and Jaya Prada were major Hindi cinema forces down the decades. Neetu Singh pioneered the Hindi non-South Indian heroine emanating from the South, followed by Rati Agnihotri, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shriya Saran, Kajal Aggarwal and the likes. From the purely Southies, Asin made a mark and Rashmika Mandanna is rocking today).
The 1990s
Aravind Swamy: Made a mark with the dubbed Roja (1993) followed by Bombay (1995). His two original Hindi films did not work, and he later did Dear Dad (2015). Aravind recently did a gritty role as a coach for aspiring armymen in Tanvi—The Great (2025).
Chiranjeevi: He had a successful debut in home production, Pratibandh (1990) and did only two other films, including N.N. Sippy’s successful Aaj Ka Goondaraj (1992).
Mammootty: He acted only in the Rishi Kapoor flop, Dhartiputra (1993).
Mohanlal: The latest Dadasaheb Phalke laureate has only done a character role in Company, which featured Ajay Devgn and was a success directed by Ram Gopal Varma.
Nagarjuna: He started off with Shiva (1990), also directed by Varma. Khuda Gawah (1992), featuring Amitabh Bachchan, was his biggest hit among a few films in the 1990s and millennium . Recently, he returned in a cameo in Brahmastra—Part One: Shiva.
Prabhu Deva: The actor-dancer-choreographer-director started off as the hero of dubbed films like Humse Hain Muqabala (1995). When his subsequent films as hero flopped in their Hindi versions, he took to choreography, beginning with Pukar (2000), Lakshya (2004) and others and then directed several Hindi films, many successful like Wanted (2009) and Rowdy Rathore (2012). He then made a comeback with original films as actor, beginning with ABCD (2013).
Venkatesh: The actor’s first film, Anari (1993) was a hit and introduced Karisma Kapoor. The second, Taqdeerwala, was a washout and he quit Hindi films. Both were home productions. He recently did a cameo in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.
