The biggest Sandalwood names

Star power counts what a person led rather than what they appeared in: the gross of the films they were top-billed in or directed, how that run held up, how many there were, how recent, and how audiences rated them. Every figure is a percentile inside Sandalwood. 89 people qualify.

Who matches whomBollywood vs Sandalwood Brazilian Cinema vs Sandalwood British Cinema vs Sandalwood Chinese Cinema vs Sandalwood Cinéma Français vs Sandalwood

#	Person	Films led	Gross led	Biggest	Star power
1	Rishab ShettyDirector	6	$320M	Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1	98
2	YashActor	9	$261M	K.G.F: Chapter 2	95
3	Prashanth NeelDirector	3	$197M	K.G.F: Chapter 2	93
4	Srinidhi ShettyActorTollywood	2	$192M	K.G.F: Chapter 2	87
5	JayaramActorTollywood	2	$103M	Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1	86
6	Rukmini VasanthActor	3	$106M	Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1	84
7	SudeepaActor	16	$96M	Vikrant Rona	84
8	Sapthami GowdaActor	2	$56M	Kantara	83
9	Darshan Thoogudeepa SrinivasActor	8	$45M	The Devil	82
10	Achyuth KumarActor	7	$77M	Kantara	81
11	Shiva RajkumarActor	11	$60M	James	78
12	Archana JoisActor	2	$40M	K.G.F: Chapter 1	78
13	P. Ravi ShankarActor	7	$39M	Roberrt	78
14	Puneeth RajkumarActor	8	$51M	James	75
15	Pramod ShettyActor	3	$20M	Avane Srimannarayana	75
16	R. SarathkumarActorKollywood	3	$32M	James	74
17	JP TuminadActor	2	$29M	Su from So	74
18	UpendraActor	10	$35M	Uppi 2	73
19	Anant NagActor	6	$31M	Raajakumara	73
20	Nirup BhandariActor	2	$30M	Vikrant Rona	71
21	Anup BhandariDirector	2	$30M	Vikrant Rona	71
22	Santhosh AnanddramDirector	4	$26M	Raajakumara	70
23	Rakshit ShettyActor	5	$22M	Avane Srimannarayana	69
24	Priya AnandActorKollywood	2	$31M	James	68
25	SriimuraliActor	4	$19M	Mufti	67
26	Rachita RamActor	4	$17M	Kranti	65
27	ChikkannaActor	5	$18M	Masterpiece	64
28	Vijay KartikeyaaDirector	2	$14M	MAX	64
29	Rashmika MandannaActorTollywood	3	$15M	Kirik Party	63
30	Shanvi ShrivastavaActor	2	$16M	Avane Srimannarayana	61
31	Varalaxmi SarathkumarActorTollywood	2	$13M	MAX	60
32	V. RavichandranActor	3	$16M	Maanikya	59
33	Dhruva SarjaActor	3	$14M	Pogaru	58
34	S. KrishnaDirector	3	$17M	Pailwaan	57
35	Prakash RajActorTollywood	3	$15M	Mr. Airavata	57
36	DhananjayActor	4	$13M	Pogaru	56
37	A. P. ArjunDirector	3	$14M	Mr. Airavata	55
38	Chaya SinghActor	2	$11M	Mufti	54
39	NarthanDirector	2	$11M	Mufti	54
40	Jagapati BabuActorTollywood	2	$12M	Roberrt	53
41	Radhika PanditActor	3	$15M	Mr & Mrs Ramachari	52
42	Darling KrishnaActor	5	$10M	Love Mocktail 2	52
43	Sadhu KokilaActor	5	$10M	Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi	49
44	Nanda KishoreDirector	2	$11M	Pogaru	47
45	Kabir Duhan SinghActorTollywood	2	$12M	Pailwaan	46
46	Pavan WadeyarDirector	3	$12M	Googly	45
47	Nidhi SubbaiahActor	2	$8M	UI	45
48	A. HarshaDirector	4	$10M	Seetharama Kalyana	45
49	Parul YadavActor	3	$11M	Uppi 2	44
50	Amrutha IyengarActor	4	$8M	Love Mocktail 2	43

The method, in full

How star power is scored

Gross led: Reported gross of the films the person was top-billed in (first 4 cast credits, or director), counted once per film.
Consistency: How those films did as a run, so one giant hit does not paper over a string of flops.
Body of work: How many films they have led; quantity helps but does not dominate.
Momentum: Gross led, discounted by age.
Audience rating: How audiences rated the films they led.

Every signal is a percentile among people who have led at least two Sandalwood films. Figures are as reported on TMDB and Wikipedia, and are indicative rather than audited.