Shaurya Thapa

As he told David Letterman in 2019, Shah Rukh Khan boasts 3.5 billion fans across his home land, the wider Indian diaspora and even Greece, Switzerland, and Egypt. Such is the extraordinary levels of fame attained by India’s most famous actor. But who sits alongside Khan at the top of that very big, very lush tree? There are a whole host to choose from.  Even beyond the Hindi film industry, India boasts stars with a cult fanbase ranging from Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in Tamil movies to Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna in the Telugu film industry or even Mammootty and Mohanlal in the Malayalam language. While Bollywood is technically the term for Hindi productions, we are looking across all state borders and counting down the biggest actors in the country including the veterans mentioned above along with a new crop of rising stars. Recommended: 🇮🇳 The 100 best Bollywood movies of all-time🇬🇧 50 great British actors🌍 The 50 best foreign films of all-time

It’s an age-old question: what is the greatest movie trilogy, and what makes a trilogy movie great? In truth, they come in all shapes and sizes from the three act structure of The Lord of the Rings, the original Star Wars movies and Hiroshi Inagaki’s masterful The Samurai Trilogy. to the looser thematic links of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy or Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. East Asian and Scandinavian cinema has given us loosely connected ‘spiritual’ trilogies, with Joachim Trier exploring Norwegian urban youth in his Oslo trilogy, Park Chan-wook helming blood-soaked Korean revenge sagas with the Vengeance trilogy. Some trilogies have futzed up the landing in their final entries. Alien, The Terminator, X-Men and Spider-Man all miss out on this list on the back of their wobbly final chapters. But the overall cultural impact of some trilogies is such that we can be willing to forgive the odd one out. So The Godfather and The Dark Knight, no matter how polarising their final instalments are. From poetic romances to swashbuckling adventures, this list will take you through the best movie trilogies. RECOMMENDED:  📽️ The 100 greatest movies of all time📺 The greatest TV and streaming series ever made

Every summer brings us a new superhero movie, muscular and flexing for your wallet. This time around it’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, a sure-to-be-snarky, sweary and irreverent middle ground between mainstream MCU fare and the satirical edge of ‘The Boys’. But before you flinch, drop that attitude: several of these blockbusters have been excellent action movies, redeeming Hollywood's most profitable genre as opportunities for sophistication, sarcasm and panache. We love the best superhero movies because they help us to dream big. Here are the 20 best examples – tie on your cape and dive in.

Ridley Scott is no stranger to historical epics… and creative licence. When the veracity of his 2023 biopic Napoleon was questioned by French critics, the ever-fiery Scott retorted back with the three blunt words: ‘Get a life.’ And his latest, Gladiator II, has already drawn the ire of historians. Details like a rhino ridden by a gladiator and sharks munching on unlucky combatants in the Colosseum have been raising eyebrows among academics. Photograph: Paramount Pictures What is the storyline of Gladiator 2 and is it true to history? The film’s historical consultant and script researcher Alexander Mariotti feels that nitpicking is unjustified for a fictional tale like Gladiator II. One of the world’s leading experts on gladiatorial combat and Roman military history, Mariotti points out that the movie’s characters are inspired by historical figures rather than direct representations: ‘Debating the number of horns on a rhino is like looking at Shakespeare’s literature as history. Julius Caesar is entertainment just like Gladiator II.’ At the same time, even some of Gladiator II’s seemingly anachronistic touches are rooted in fact. So, did the games in the Colosseum have a master of ceremonies? Did newspapers exist back then? And did gladiators partake in rhino rodeos? Mariotti enters the arena. Photograph: Paramount Pictures 1. Were there sharks in the Colosseum? ‘No. There were no fish tanks back then, so there was no way to physically bring them in,’ says Mariotti. Howeve

Deadpool and Wolverine. The ‘Merc With a Mouth’ and the adamantium-clawed mutant have sparred on the big screen before, albeit in the CGI-heavy downer that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Instead of a rematch, Marvel offers us a team-up for the ages, with Ryan Reynolds returning as Canada’s cheekiest antihero and Hugh Jackman returning to wear his claws (and the comic-accurate blue-and-yellow costume) in the summer’s rudest blockbuster, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.  Shawn Levy’s R-rated superhero comedy throws its titular protagonists in the middle of the Time Variance Authority’s multiversal chaos as they embark on a mission that can rewrite the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Expect X-Men and MCU cameos by the boatload, along with new players like ‘Succession’s Matthew MacFadyen as an ominous TVA agent and ‘The Crown’s Emma Corin as Cassandra Nova, the evil telekinetic twin of Charles Xavier. And, of course, the canine acting talent that is Peggy as Dogpool.  The third ‘Deadpool’ movie is unique, not just for sending Wade Wilson into the MCU but for its use of distinctive UK locations. While you can catch the odd glimpse of Vancouver in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, Ryan Reynolds’s Canadian hometown isn’t the key filming location this time out. Instead, the chimichanga-loving mercenary has packed his bags and makes the move across the Atlantic. Dare we dream of a Deadpool and Paddington team-up?  20th Century FoxBuckinghamshire’s Pitstone Quarry is a key ‘Deadpool & Wolverine

With ‘Bridgerton’s success, many more revisionist dramas are arriving in the streaming space. Shows like ‘Mary & George’ and now ‘My Lady Jane’ subvert British history while retaining the costumes and grandeur of the time. The latter is a Prime Video historical fantasy that has Bridgerton production designer Will Hughes-Jones handling all the Tudor-era worldbuilding. Backdropped by Britain’s historical castles, manors and stately homes, the series revolves around Lady Jane Grey, the ill-fated ‘Nine Days’ Queen’ who was executed by Mary I – aka ‘Bloody Mary’ – in 1554. But what if the titular heroine had lived a little longer? And what if there was also a war between humans and Ethians, humans who can transform into animals? That’s the premise behind My Lady Jane alternate history of Tudor England. Despite its magical elements, ‘My Lady Jane’ sticks to the period setting and incorporates many real-world medieval locations ranging from Dover Castle to the gardens of Hampton Court Palace. Photograph: Jonathan PrimeEmily Bader as Lady Jane Grey What is My Lady Jane based on? It’s all based on a 2016 novel by co-authors Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows that reimagines the lives of 16th century aristocrat Lady Jane Grey and her cousin Edward VI – only it’s a YA adventure with a slight magical twist so there’s less of the brutal Tudor politics and beheadings. Where did they film My Lady Jane? Period drama isn’t a new genre for ‘Bridgerton’ production designer Will Hugh

July 4 is here again and with it a chance to run up the Stars and Stripes, pledge allegiance to the nearest barbecue and ponder the greatness of America – past, present, and, hopefully, future. And Hollywood is, once again, here to help. Tinseltown was born celebrating American virtues – resilience, courage, independence, ambition and occasionally putting one over the Russkies – and it’s remained true to that holy quest ever since. Which means there are a plethora of movies to kick back to when the barbecuing is done and the fireworks have finally fallen silent. Here’s seven family-friendly classics to get started with.  Photograph: 20th Century FoxBill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore in Independence Day Independence Day (1996) How many votes would Bill Pullman’s ID4 President get in 2024? All of them? The dreamy POTUS delivers a rousing speech for the ages as he leads the fight back against a species of hi-tech alien species with major USB security issues. It might be a toughie for some Americans to witness this level of glint-eyed leadership this July 4, but with Will Smith’s fighter pilot doing the Top Gun thing and Jeff Goldblum’s tech wizard coming up with brainy solutions to Earth’s imminent extinction, Independence Day is the perfect escapist slice of American exceptionalism – all delivered with spectacular aplomb by the German Roland Emmerich.  Photograph: United International Pictures Born on the Fourth of July (1989) The title sounds hyper-nationalistic but