2022 hasn’t been the best year for the entertainment business overall. However, there’s an old saying that got validation once again this year in our movie industry. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. In a year where some of the biggest names have struggled to make it big, some have come out really good courtesy of their entertainment content. Hence, in our IWMBuzz.com Year Ender story, we bring forward to our readers, our list of the ‘Most Popular Movie Stars Of The Year (Male) of 2022’. Check below.
Ram Charan (RRR, Acharya): He is one man who truly doesn’t need any introduction by any means. For quite many years, he’s been ruling the roost in the South regional entertainment industry with his presence and we love it. Well, given the fact that the blood of the iconic Chiranjeevi runs in his veins, it is only natural that he’s going to earn the status of a bonafide star and sensation for real. The year 2022 was also quite amazing for him as movies like RRR and Acharya did wonders in his career. RRR, in particular, helped him earn global fame and popularity and here’s hoping he only carries the good work ahead going forward.
Jr. NTR: (RRR): For the longest time, Jr. NTR has been earning a lot of love and appreciation for his power-packed roles and performances. Apart from being a stunning actor, he’s also a sensational dancer and more often than not, he gets a tremendous amount of love and appreciation from fans for his humble personality. He’s extremely sweet and gels wonderfully with all his lovers like a true superstar. 2022 was quite a year for him professionally as RRR played a humongous role in him getting global attention from fans. Here’s hoping he only gets better going forward in 2023.
Hrithik Roshan: (Vikram Vedha) They say ‘form is temporary, class is permanent.’ Well, if there’s any star who makes this statement feel 100% true, it is none other than Hrithik Roshan. His last movie wasn’t the best and this time as well, he came back after a long hiatus with Vikram Vedha. When the movie was initially announced, a lot of critics judged him for apparently being part of a South blockbuster remake. But Hrithik being the superstar who can foresee things right, starred in Vikram Vedha alongside Saif Ali Khan and the movie was a huge success critically. Although it didn’t earn the riches at the box office as he would have liked to, it was certainly one of the box critically-acclaimed movies.
Allu Arjun: When it comes to chalking down the list of the most popular movie male stars, irrespective of whether he has a release or not, it is nothing less than impossible to keep Allu Arjun out of the list. While he’s always been a humongous star in the South Indian entertainment industry, his fan following hit a new Pan-Indian level immediately after the grand success of Pushpa in 2021. The movie was released in 2021 and ever since then, Allu didn’t have a release in 2022. However, the gigantic success of the movie in itself was enough to help him earn the ‘Most Popular Indian Of The Year’ for the year 2022. The award in itself is a nice enough reason to include him in this list. Eagerly waiting for Pushpa 2 folks?
Kamal Hassan: Just when you talk about superstars, this is one name that certainly can’t be ignored by any means. Off-late, he’s started to focus more on quality ahead of quantity and well, every time he comes up with a movie, he hits it out of the park for real with his performance. His movie ‘Vikram’ was one of the best that we saw this year and not just sheer entertainment ladies and gentlemen, it also had a lot to do with good quality content. The movie earned somewhere around 417-500 crores globally and we are super proud of him. Roaring like a lion and for real.
Yash: The moment this man comes up with a new project, the first word that comes to our mind is ‘Salaam Rocky Bhai’. While he’s always been a huge star in the Kannada regional entertainment industry for a long time, his fan following hit a new high when he became a part of the KGF franchise. The first part of the movie was released in 2018 and it was enough to give him Pan-India popularity. The year 2022 was phenomenal for him, as well as KGF 2, was certainly rated as one of the best movies of the year. With collections of over Rs 525 crores, the movie earned humongous reception from fans and we aren’t surprised by any means.
Ajay Devgn: Just at a time when people thought he could be written off after movies like Runway 34, Ajay Devgn answered his critics with perfection. Although the movie ‘Drishyam’ was carrying the ‘franchise’ value already, Ajay Devgn ensured with his performance that the movie carries forward the good work from where it left the last time when it was released around the time of 2015. As expected, the movie ended up being one of the best movies of the year 2022 and we love it. Brilliance is perhaps an understatement.
Kartik Aaryan: He’s the new blue-eyed boy of the Hindi film industry and right now, he’s in that phase of his career professionally where anything and everything that he touches seems to turn into gold for him. If 2021 was good for him, 2022 was even better. The year 2022 saw Kartik Aaryan keep a nice blend of both content in cinemas and OTT and well, both had favourable results for him. While Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was a humongous hit this year in cinemas, his latest OTT releases ‘Freddy’ on Disney Plus Hotstar saw him pull off something unique and different that he never did before. The year certainly belonged to him to a great extent and here’s hoping he continues the good work in 2023 as well.
Ranbir Kapoor: If we have to make a list of some of the finest actors and performing artists that we have had in the industry in the last decade or so, Ranbir Kapoor’s name is a must in that. After the blockbuster ‘Sanju’ in the year 2018, fans were eagerly waiting for him to rule hearts with his next set of movies. Well, the Covid-19 pandemic along with certain changes in his personal life took him 4 years for his next release. While Shamshera didn’t do as well as he would have liked to, Brahmastra earned more than 300 crores and certainly fans showered a lot of love on them after the duo got married this year and became blessed with a baby girl. More power to the new ‘papa’ in town personally and professionally going forward.
Varun Dhawan: Last but certainly not least, we have to talk about ‘Junior Dhawan’ aka Varun Dhawan who had quite an interesting year professionally. At a time when most of the movies failed to make it big in cinemas in terms of box office, Varun Dhawan and his ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’ covered up for quite a few of such movies. If JugJugg Jeeyo was the main offering, Bhediya was certainly the icing on the cake for all fans and admirers of Varun Dhawan. A lot of critics felt that while the execution of the movie could have been a tad better, full marks must go to the entire cast and crew for simply trying to pull off such a westernised concept in the Indian entertainment scenario. He proved to quite many critics once again that he’s a lot more than just the massy, masala entertainers that he’s most famous for and that certainly brings him to this list for the year 2022 readers.
Well, folks, these were our picks on the ‘Most Popular Movie Stars (Male) 2022’. Now, it’s time for you to pick your favourite.