While choosing the 'Star Of The Year' has been an easy choice for us in past years (Hrithik Roshan in 2006 with Aamir Khan as first runner up and Kajol as second, Amitabh Bachchan in 2005 with Rani Mukerjee as first runner up and Abhishek Bachchan as second), this year was a much tougher pick due to the emergence of Akshay Kumar as a box office champ.

2007 saw Shahrukh Khan's Om Shanti Om (65%) surpass the collections of his other starrer, Chak De India (71%), to be the biggest grosser of 2007. Because of that, we have named Shahrukh Khan as 2007's Star Of The Year due to the fact that he had the two biggest grossers of 2007 as it ended (although Akshay Kumar's Welcome (52%) may surpass both films collections in a few weeks).

It has been somewhat of a comeback year for the King Khan, as the last few years have been underwhelming for a star of his stature. 2004 saw the King Khan deliver a hit in Veer-Zaara (69%), however the film didn't live up to expectations at the box office. That was followed up with Swades (67%), which flopped despite faring well with critics. 2005 was poor as his only release, Paheli (61%), failed at the box office. In 2006, Khan delivered average hits in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (65%) and Don - The Chase Begins Again (58%), with neither film being in the top 5 grossers of 2006.

However, this year Om Shanti Om showed that if you put the King Khan in the right type of film, you are guaranteed a huge hit. Coupled with the fact that Chak De India became a super hit despite having an offbeat theme and no heroine, and you have 2007 being a huge comeback of sorts for Shahrukh.

2007 also saw the emergence of Akshay Kumar as a box office megastar. While Shahrukh had the 2 biggest grossers of the year, Akshay had 3 of his 4 releases in the top 10, while his fourth, Namaste London, was at # 11. Akshay's Welcome only released 2 weeks ago and is already the 5th biggest grosser of the year! Another point is that all of Akshay's films had good to great openings at the box office. While Om Shanti Om was expected to be a huge hit from the start and had many things working in its favor, Chak De India's opening was disappointing and picked up only by word of mouth over its opening weekend. The pre-release booking for the film was the worst for a Yash Raj production since Neal N Nikki (35%) in 2005. Not to mention, both Om Shanti Om and Chak De India's were good films as they both featured in our Top Films of 2007.

However Akshay Kumar has done what no actor since Amitabh Bachchan has done since the 70's and 80's, and that is make a series of average to above average films and make them hits! Despite not working with the biggest production houses and directors, Akshay keeps churning out hit after hit! As a matter of fact, Akshay Kumar's best reviewed film this year, Heyy Babyy, has the same rating of Shahrukh Khan's worst reviewed in the past 3 years, Don - The Chase Begins Again (also at a 58%). And none of Akshay's releases this year made it into our Top 20 Films of 2007

All of Akshay's films this year have scored in the 50's range (which is Average to Above Average) with Heyy Babyy faring the best with critics at a 58% (Above Average), with Namastey London next at a 56% (also Above Average), Bhool Bhulaiyaa in third with a 52% and finally Welcome at a 52%. Despite the average reviews from the critics, all four films were hits, with Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa being super hits, and Welcome on its way to being a super hit!

Meanwhile coming in third was a toss up between Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek started the year off strong with a huge hit in Guru (72%) which earned critical acclaim for both the film and Abhishek's performance. However, Abhishek's next, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (50%), flooped at the box office and his extended appearance in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (44%) failed to impress. Meanwhile, Aamir Khan finished off the year strong with an amazing directoral effort in Taare Zameen Par (77%), a film in which he starred in. Despite it being his first film as a director, the film is already the best reviewed popular film of 2007 and it has picked up at the box office, despite a slow start. Because of that, Aamir Khan finishes third this year.

Congratulations to Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan for their fantastic 2007's and here's hoping they have a great 2008. Here is our official list of 2007 Star Of The Year:

Star Of The Year Of 2007

Shahrukh Khan

Runner-Up #1 - Akshay Kumar

Runner-Up #2 - Aamir Khan

Past Winners

Star Of The Year Of 2006 - Hrithik Roshan (Runner-Up #1 - Aamir Khan, Runner-Up #2 - Kajol)

Star Of The Year Of 2005 - Amitabh Bachchan (Runner-Up #1 - Rani Mukerji, Runner-Up #2 - Abhishek Bachchan)