Do Baaghi 2's Impressive Box Office Figures Establish Tiger Shroff as a Bigger Star Than Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Ranveer Singh?

Collecting Rs 25.10 crore on its opening day, Baaghi 2 just turned out to 2018's biggest opening day grosser beating Padmaavat in the process. Do remember that Padmaavat banked on the box office potential of its three lead performers - Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor. That say a lot about Tiger Shroff's increasing fan following, who are in quite awe of the star's martial arts prowess and dancing skills.

Having seen Baaghi 2 FDFS, I was amazed to see how Tiger's every kick and punch was met with applause and cheers from the crowds. This was a response I last saw when I watched Salman Khan's Tiger Zinda Hai on its opening day. Are we witnessing Jackie Shroff's cub roaring his way into Salman Khan's territory?

It won't make any kind of sense to compare Tiger Shroff with the likes of Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and even Hrithik Roshan. Even though he may be giving box office figures matching their box office pull, Tiger Shroff has yet to show the same veracity in other genres and roles. So it is silly to make him clash with the senior stars of Bollywood.

But what about the stars in his own age-bracket and league? This includes Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra and others. This is the question in everyone's mind. To which we have an answer - hold your horses!

Talking about proper stats, right now, the only stars who is having a good time at the box office right now are Tiger Shroff, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan and to some, extent, Arjun Kapoor.

Out of all these, it is Tiger Shroff who has managed to have his film get the highest box office opening figures. After Baaghi 2 is declared as the highest opener outside Khan, Rohit Shetty and Baahubali territory. The closest comes Varun Dhawan's Judwaa 2 with Rs 15.50 crore and Ranveer Singh's Padmaavat with Rs 18.50 crore. So in terms of opening day figures, Tiger Shroff did beat them all.

However, this proves only one thing for now - Tiger Shroff has a stronger fan-base who hog all the opening shows than rest of the stars. It really doesn't mean that he is the bigger star. We have to remember that he is coming after two back-to-back debacles in A Flying Jatt and Munna Michael. Therefore he doesn't enjoy the 100 percent success rate that Varun Dhawan enjoys. Tiger Shroff is also yet to give a Rs 100 crore movie, that Varun, Sidharth Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh can boast of.

Speaking specifically about Baaghi 2, it is made to be a followup of a hit movie, and enjoys the franchise status. The promos have been thrilling and the audience have a soft corner for movies with masala content. This is evident in the case of Salman Khan. Tiger Zinda Hai went on to mint big bucks while Tubelight, a drama, was considered a loss.

And unlike many of his peers, Tiger has yet do a movie that goes beyond his forte of action. His biggest challenge will be the upcoming Student of the Year 2, where there will be more focus on romance. If he manages to bring the same box office pull to SOTY 2, then we can think about calling him the bigger star.  We also do hope that Tiger would work on the other aspects of his performance, including working on emotions.

So for those experts who are already hailing Tiger Shroff as the next best thing in Bollywood and comparing him with Salman Khan, do chill. Give the boy some air to breathe! He can earn that tag, but he need to prove it not just through Baaghi 2 opening day figures but by consistently good performances.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2018 10:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).