These are actors shaped by romance, comedy, drama, and character cinema. But in the last few years, something shifted in Indian cinema and in their careers at the same time
For years, if you heard the names Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, or Kamal Haasan, you wouldn’t immediately think of them as all-out action heroes. These are actors shaped by romance, comedy, drama, and character cinema. But in the last few years, something shifted in Indian cinema and in their careers at the same time.
Anil Kapoor
For someone whose presence has always been a magnetic force on screen, with his electric energy, effortless charisma, and infectious smile, Anil Kapoor has dipped into action in bits and pieces over his illustrious career. Yet, nothing has matched the intensity and raw physical commitment he’s bringing to Prime Video’s Subedaar, which introduces him as a no‑nonsense retired soldier who’s been pushed too far.
The first look and teaser leave no doubt, with billboards that warn “Don’t F**K With Subedaar!” At 69, when most might lean on legacy alone, Kapoor has leaned into the grind of action with a role that’s being billed as his most brutal one yet. What the actor is doing with Subedaar is exactly what makes this list compelling.
Shah Rukh Khan
For over 30 years, Shah Rukh Khan has been Bollywood’s go‑to romantic lead, widely known and celebrated as the ‘King of Romance’. Then, in 2023, he dropped Pathaan. And it was a leap into a full‑tilt action world. The film didn’t just mark his comeback following a string of misses, but it also rebranded SRK as a serious action hero. But he didn’t stop there.
His follow‑up was Jawan, which doubled down on scale, spectacle, and mass-action template, proving that his foray into the genre was not a one-film experiment. In interviews, Khan has said that he came to the film industry 32 years ago to be an action hero, making Pathaan a dream come true moment in his journey. With King in the pipeline, which is touted as a true-blue action spectacle, Khan is now one of India’s biggest action stars by all measures.
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan’s legend was built on intensity and scale. Remember his ‘Angry Young Man’ days? But for decades, he largely stayed in the drama and slice-of-life lane. That all flipped in 2022 with Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, where Bachchan played the mystical ‘Guruji’ in a high‑concept fantasy adventure that put him back into a world of larger‑than‑life stakes. But the real game‑changer was Nag Ashwin’s dystopian sci-fi epic, Kalki 2898 AD. Here, Bachchan’s Ashwatthama faces off against Prabhas and others in zero‑gravity battles. At age 81, he was in the thick of those fight scenes, not hiding in the back. With these two outings, Big B proved that even a cinema icon of his age can be the engine of blockbuster action, not just the soul.
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan has been a chameleon of roles, but again, he wasn’t really known as an action hero in the Vijayakanth or Rajinikanth mould. That changed with 2022’s Vikram, a Lokesh Kanagaraj-helmed thriller that did more than revive his mass image. Haasan wasn’t just in the film.
He carried it. He plays a relentless undercover agent, unleashing brutal fight sequences, who had Telugu and Tamil audiences floored. He brought a savagery we’d seldom seen from him. Vikram’s success and Kamal’s ferocity in it reshaped his image. He’s been an auteur and comedian and character actor, but suddenly he’s discussed alongside the fiercest action heroes, especially when fans talk about Lokesh’s cinematic universe.
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