Bollywood’s Longest Solo-Hit Droughts: Sunny Deol Waited 22 Years, Emraan Hashmi 14

Written By: Entertainment Desk

Sep 28, 2026 14:48 IST ⓘ

From Sunny Deol to Emraan Hashmi, Bollywood stars who endured shocking box office droughts.

The box office has a peculiar memory. It remembers the Friday a star conquered it, then seems to forget every good performance that came before the next hit. Some actors spent years watching promising releases come and go; others took a break, changed genres or returned in an ensemble big enough to fill its own cinema hall. And sometimes a supposedly unbeatable drought disappears when you check the trade verdicts. Here are the long waits that hold up to scrutiny, and the stars still waiting for their next theatrical hit.

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The Comebacks That Took Their Time

1. Sunny Deol - Yamla Pagla Deewana to Gadar 2

Tara Singh waited 22 years to return after 2001’s ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’. Sunny Deol did not spend all 22 without a hit: Box Office India graded his family comedy ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’, released January 14, 2011, a hit. However, that wasn’t a solo hit; still that makes the hit-to-hit wait until ‘Gadar 2’ about 12 years and seven months. When Anil Sharma’s sequel arrived on August 11, 2023, it reunited Sunny Deol with Ameesha Patel and brought in Utkarsh Sharma, Simrat Kaur and Manish Wadhwa. Tara went back into action, and the film grossed Rs 686 crore worldwide.

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2. Madhuri Dixit - Devdas to Total Dhamaal

In July 2002, Madhuri Dixit danced through Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’, a hit co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Her later theatrical releases, including ‘Aaja Nachle’, ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ and ‘Gulaab Gang’, did not receive that verdict; there were also long stretches away from Hindi films. The drought ended on February 22, 2019, in a gloriously unlikely place: a madcap treasure hunt. Indra Kumar’s ‘Total Dhamaal’ paired her with Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey, earning Rs 232.18 crore worldwide. It was an ensemble hit rather than a Madhuri solo vehicle, but after 16 years and seven months, even the punchline deserved a victory dance.

3. Arjun Rampal - Ra.One to Dhurandhar

In the 2011 sci-fi spectacle ‘Ra.One’, Arjun Rampal was the villain opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan; Box Office India graded it a Hit. Then came Hindi releases such as ‘D-Day’, ‘Roy’, ‘Rock On 2’, ‘Daddy’ and ‘Dhaakad’, none of which received another Hit verdict from the trade trackers. Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ changed that on December 5, 2025, casting Arjun alongside Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan and Sara Arjun. The spy thriller grossed Rs 1,307.35 crore worldwide. This is strictly a Hindi-film gap: Arjun also appeared in the 2023 Telugu Hit ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’.

4. Emraan Hashmi - Raaz 3 to Awarapan 2

Emraan Hashmi’s ‘Raaz 3’ was a Super Hit on September 7, 2012; a long succession of his subsequent leading films fell short. On August 14, 2026, he revived another signature character in Nitin Kakkar’s ‘Awarapan 2’, opposite Disha Patani, with Shabana Azmi and Suvinder Vicky in the cast. The reunion of a cult favourite with the big screen worked: Box Office India called the sequel a hit, while Sacnilk’s September 28 running total was Rs 213.01 crore worldwide. The qualifier matters. Emraan also played the antagonist in the 2023 Hit ‘Tiger 3’, so this is a nearly 14-year gap between hits built around him, rather than 14 years without appearing in any hit.

5. Shahid Kapoor - Jab We Met to Kabir Singh

Shahid’s Aditya won hearts opposite Kareena Kapoor in ‘Jab We Met’ on October 26, 2007. Yet Box Office India rated ‘R... Rajkumar’, ‘Haider’ and ‘Udta Punjab’ Average, leaving him waiting for another unequivocal hit centred on his own character. That arrived on June 21, 2019, with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s polarising romantic drama ‘Kabir Singh’, co-starring Kiara Advani. It made Rs 377 crore worldwide. There is a crucial interruption to any broader 12-year drought claim: Shahid was also in the 2018 Blockbuster ‘Padmaavat’. The long gap describes his lead-driven hits, not his entire filmography.

6. Shah Rukh Khan - Happy New Year to Pathaan

Before the spy walked into the frame, Shah Rukh Khan’s last leading film graded a hit was 2014’s ‘Happy New Year’. That label is stricter than film that made money: ‘Dilwale’ and ‘Raees’ received Semi Hit verdicts, while ‘Fan’, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ and ‘Zero’ disappointed. Then came January 25, 2023. Directed by Siddharth Anand and co-starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, ‘Pathaan’ turned SRK’s comeback into a cinema-wide event and collected Rs 1,055 crore worldwide. Count 2017’s ‘Raees’ as a commercial success and the interval shrinks to six years; under the stated Hit-or-better test, it is roughly eight years and three months.

7. Varun Dhawan - Judwaa 2 to Border 2

Varun Dhawan looked almost incapable of missing in his early career. Then, after the September 29, 2017 hit ‘Judwaa 2’, the clear-cut hits stopped: ‘Sui Dhaaga’ was graded semi hit and ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ average by Box Office India. Anurag Singh’s war epic ‘Border 2’ finally broke the run on January 23, 2026. Sharing the screen with Sunny Deol, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty, Varun was part of a film that grossed Rs 450.19 crore worldwide. The wait was eight years and four months, and the comeback was an ensemble success; a solo-led Varun film had yet to clear the same hurdle.

8. Aamir Khan - Dangal to Sitaare Zameen Par

How do you follow ‘Dangal’? For Aamir Khan, the answer took longer than expected. The December 2016 blockbuster was followed by the costly failures of ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ and ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. His appearance in ‘Secret Superstar’ was a supporting one, and Box Office India rated that film Average in India. On June 20, 2025, R.S. Prasanna’s ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ put Aamir back in the lead as a basketball coach working with players with disabilities. With Genelia Deshmukh among the cast, the film received a hit verdict and grossed Rs 267.52 crore worldwide. It was a gentler comeback than Dangal’s record-breaking run, but it ended an eight-and-a-half-year wait.

9. Vidya Balan - Kahaani to Mission Mangal

‘Kahaani’ made a missing-husband mystery a theatrical hit in March 2012, with Vidya Balan carrying the film on her shoulders. She continued to win affection and acclaim, but affection and trade verdicts do not always match: Box Office India, for instance, rated 2017’s much-loved ‘Tumhari Sulu’ Average. Her next Hit-or-better theatrical film came on August 15, 2019, when Jagan Shakti launched ‘Mission Mangal’. Akshay Kumar, Vidya, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi played the team behind an ambitious space mission. The film grossed Rs 291 crore worldwide. The applause was deserved, even if this was a group mission after Kahaani’s solo triumph.

10. Deepika Padukone - Padmaavat to Pathaan

Deepika had already shared a blockbuster with Shahid in ‘Padmaavat’, released January 25, 2018. But ‘Chhapaak’ and ‘83’ did not become theatrical hits, and it was exactly five years before another one arrived. In Siddharth Anand’s ‘Pathaan’, released January 25, 2023, she matched Shah Rukh Khan’s spy with a character whose loyalties kept the audience guessing, opposite John Abraham as the antagonist. The film’s Rs 1,055 crore worldwide gross makes the symmetry irresistible: same calendar date, five years apart, and a much louder box-office ending.

11. Akshay Kumar - Sooryavanshi to Bhooth Bangla

After the November 2021 hit ‘Sooryavanshi’, Akshay went through a punishing run of disappointing starring vehicles. The change of luck came with a familiar director: Priyadarshan’s ‘Bhooth Bangla’ opened on April 17, 2026, bringing Akshay together with Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani. Box Office India called it a Hit; Sacnilk put its worldwide gross at Rs 270.91 crore. This is specifically a gap between Akshay-led hits. He had an extended appearance in 2023’s ‘OMG 2’, which Box Office India also classified as a hit, so a four-and-a-half-year gap across all his appearances would be wrong.

12. Ranveer Singh - Gully Boy to Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Ranveer’s ‘Gully Boy’ landed as a hit in February 2019, but ‘83’, ‘Jayeshbhai Jordaar’ and ‘Cirkus’ could not keep that theatrical streak alive. On July 28, 2023, Karan Johar let him turn up the charm as Rocky opposite Alia Bhatt’s Rani, with Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi making the family feuds even richer. ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ grossed Rs 357.50 crore worldwide. Box Office India declared it a hit, noting the importance of its overseas performance. Ranveer would go on to larger box-office fireworks with ‘Dhurandhar’, but this was the film that ended his four-year-and-five-month gap.

The Waiting List

13. Kangana Ranaut - More than 10 years since Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Kangana got two memorable roles for the price of one in Aanand L. Rai’s ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, released May 22, 2015. Co-starring R. Madhavan, Jimmy Sheirgill and Deepak Dobriyal, it grossed Rs 258 crore worldwide and earned a blockbuster verdict from Box Office India. Films including ‘Panga’, ‘Dhaakad’ and her self-directed January 2025 political drama ‘Emergency’ have not yielded another Hindi theatrical Hit-or-better verdict. As of September 28, 2026, her wait has crossed 11 years and four months.

14. Anushka Sharma - Nearly 10 years since a hit

Anushka’s last full starring role in a hit was Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, released October 28, 2016, with Ranbir Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. It grossed Rs 240.72 crore worldwide. ‘Sui Dhaaga’ later received a Semi Hit verdict, while her last theatrical starring release, ‘Zero’, opened in December 2018 and disappointed. There is another asterisk: she also made a guest appearance in the 2018 blockbuster ‘Sanju’. So, the nearly decade-long gap applies to starring-role hits. Her long absence from cinemas makes this as much an acting hiatus as a sequence of box-office failures.

15. Sonakshi Sinha - Seven years since Mission Mangal

Sonakshi’s last widely classed Hindi theatrical hit arrived with ‘Mission Mangal’ on August 15, 2019. Jagan Shakti’s space drama, co-starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen and Kirti Kulhari, earned Rs 291 crore worldwide. That same year’s ‘Dabangg 3’ brought her back to a franchise associated with her debut but was rated an average performer. As of September 28, 2026, the Hit-or-better wait stands at seven years and one month. Her success on streaming, including ‘Dahaad’ and ‘Heeramandi’, is a different conversation from a theatrical box-office verdict.

16. Sidharth Malhotra - The Vvaan has opened but the verdict is pending

Sidharth’s last clearly classified Hindi theatrical hit was Shakun Batra’s ‘Kapoor & Sons’, released March 18, 2016, with Alia Bhatt and Fawad Khan. Sacnilk put its worldwide gross at Rs 143.40 crore. That suggests a potential 10-and-a-half-year gap, even though ‘Shershaah’ became a streaming success in 2021. His latest chance, Deepak Kumar Mishra’s forest-set fantasy ‘The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest’, opened on September 25, 2026 with Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil Grover and Manish Paul. Its first three days put it at Rs 43.15 crore worldwide, according to Sacnilk. Three days of ticket sales cannot establish a final hit verdict. For now, Sidharth belongs on the watch list, not among confirmed comebacks.