Stars, rather than plots, were often the driving force behind the films. Beginning in 1936, when Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani emerged as the first major star pair, the Indian public developed an insatiable appetite for news about their screen heroes. This interest continued with male actors such as Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Dev Anand in the 1950s and ’60s, Rajesh Khanna in the ’70s, Amitabh Bachchan in the ’80s, and Shah Rukh Khan in the ’90s. Popular female icons included Madhubala in the 1950s, Mumtaz in the ’60s, Zeenat Aman in the ’70s, Hema Malini in the ’80s, and Madhuri Dixit and Kajol in the ’90s.
