Do Bollywood actors take comparison with contemporaries in their stride?

Do Bollywood actors take comparison with contemporaries in their stride?

Hrithik Roshan is Bollywood's Greek God, and Harman Baweja resembles Hrithik. Sneha Ullal is known as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's doppelganger, and Zareen Khan is Katrina Kaif's chubbier version. Is Abhishek Bachchan as good as Amitabh Bachchan? Who's better - Deepika Padukone or Anushka Sharma? Ranbir Kapoor or Ranveer Singh?

Comparisons may be flattering and at times, odious, but they are inevitable - the two people may or may not belong to the same generation and line of work. And if an unwelcome comparison lingers on for too long, it can get bothersome. Like Nawazuddin Siddiqui has expressed his "irritation" at the media constantly likening him to his Lunchbox co-star Irrfan, who prefers to stay mum about it.

hitlist takes a look at some actors who have been pitted against their contemporaries or seniors for years on end…

Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta

It was in the same year that the two actresses won their beauty titles. In keeping with the trend of beauty queens entering Bollywood, the duo signed their first film together, 'Andaaz', which proved to be a box office hit. After that, analogies were drawn between them for several years. They, however, have remained friends though deciding to follow different paths - Lara is happily married and has turned producer after cutting down on her acting assignments while Priyanka continues acting in Bollywood, taking up US television shows and making her mark as a singer too.

Sridevi and Jayaprada

Hailing from the South and having established themselves in that film industry, it was but obvious for the two veterans to be under media scrutiny for their work, appearance and dancing skills. They, however, are known not to be on talking terms despite being part of many films together. It is said that Jayaprada's comment on natural and acquired beauty had hurt Sridevi, so they stopped interacting with each other.

Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen

The Miss World and the Miss Universe stepped into the film industry a year apart. Sush made her debut with 'Dastak' (1996) and Ash was first seen on the silver screen in 'Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya' (1997). Even though they have not worked together in any project, they were pitted against each other for a long time as they won their respective beauty pageants in the same year. For the last five years, the two gorgeous women have kept away from the big screen, which may have led the comparisons to fade out.

Richa Chadda and Huma Qureshi

The two actresses made their debut together in 'Gangs of Wasseypur' and received equal amount of praise for their respective roles. The "good friends" have been constant victims of comparison, right from their choice of films to appearances. It looks like who-is-better debate is not going to die down soon.

Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman

In the early '70s, Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman made their mark with back-to-back hits. Many felt they looked similar, paving the way for endless debates on who has outdone whom. The common feature between them was they successfully ripped the damsel-in-distress stereotype of Indian heroines and came to be known as sex symbols. Parveen went through a lot of ups and down in her career due to her ill-health while Zeenat also faced difficulties in her personal life.

Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan

Amar and Anthony have delivered many blockbusters. There was a time when people would say that Vinod was the only actor who could take away Amitabh's superstar status from him. Like Big B, Khanna too enjoyed the 'angry young man' image. But the latter quit acting while he was it his peak. Bachchan, like we know, is going strong even after four and half decades in the industry.