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Aamir Khan, Salman Khan To Shah Rukh Khan: South Cameos of Bollywood Superstars Ranked

MENSXP | August 20, 2025 4:39 AM CST

Lokesh Kanagaraj’s latest film Coolie starring Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna featured Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in a cameo making it first for the actor in south Indian cinema.

Before Aamir Khan in Coolie, Salman Khan did a cameo in Chiranjeevi’s Telugu actioner Godfather, Ajay Devgn in Telugu actioner RRR, Akshay Kumar in Telugu mythological epic Kanappa and Shah Rukh Khan in Tamil period film Hey Ram.

Ranking South Cameos of Bollywood Superstars From Worst To Best

5. Akshay Kumar in Kanappa (2025)

Akshay Kumar played the character of Lord Shiva in the recently released devotional epic Kanappa starring Vishnu Manchu in the lead role.

While Akshay’s character was fine, there was nothing really he got to do that's worth talking about. Moreover, his cameo doesn’t invoke any emotion or feeling in fact, was overshadowed by Prabhas’ crowdpleasing cameo in Kanappa.

And in fact, Akshay had a better role as Lord Shiva/Shiva’s messenger in OMG 2.

4. Aamir Khan in Coolie (2025)

There was a massive hype around Aamir Khan’s cameo in Coolie with people expecting a crowdpleasing massy theatrical experience. But, eventually it left a lot to be desired.

Aamir Khan’s entire sequence was not at all important to the plot but it was still kind of fun to see him alongside Rajinikanth and Upendra.

3. Salman Khan in Godfather (2022)

An official Telugu remake of 2019 Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer, Godfather starred Chiranjeevi in the lead role and Salman Khan appeared in an action-packed special appearance playing a role originally portrayed by Prithviraj Sukumaran.

The character was important to the plot but the presentation was not as good as expected with poor de-aging/vfx on Salman Khan’s face.

2. Shah Rukh Khan in Hey Ram (2000)

One of the best cameos by a Bollywood superstar in a south Indian film is Shah Rukh Khan in Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram. His entire sequence in pre-climax with Kamal Haasan is chef’s kiss and changes the trajectory of the protagonist’s motivation and thought process.

1. Ajay Devgn in RRR (2022)

The best cameo by a Bollywood superstar in a south movie is Ajay Devgn’s towering presence in SS Rajamouli’s RRR.

The only reason this is ranked higher than SRK in Hey Ram is because after the initial song, Shah Rukh Khan’s character is forgotten in the Kamal Haasan film before reappearing in the solid pre-climax portion, whereas in RRR, despite featuring in just one small flashback scene, Ajay’s presence is felt throughout the film.