<P> A number of Chinese film actors have become some of the most popular movie stars in Eastern Asia and are also well known in the Western world . They include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun - fat, Stephen Chow, Sammo Hung, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, Maggie Cheung, and the late Bruce Lee . </P> <P> The Indian film industry, of which one is commonly known as Bollywood, has its own set of rules in this aspect . There are often superstars in this region who command premium pay commensurate with their box office appeal . Male Indian actors who are among the most popular movie stars in India and Southern Asia include Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, Amol Palekar, Aditya Pancholi, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Rampal, Govinda, Shahid Kapoor and Anil Kapoor . Actresses include Sridevi, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Deepika Padukone, Isha Koppikar, Dia Mirza, Hema Malini, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Zeenat Aman, Reena Roy, Vyjayanthimala, and Rekha . </P> <P> Some mainstream Indian movie stars, like the Khans of Bollywood (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Dilip Kumar), Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Mithun Chakraborty, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai gained international fame across Asia and Eastern Europe . For example, Bollywood films were popular in the Soviet Union, more so than Hollywood films and occasionally even domestic Soviet films . Indian actors like Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Mithun Chakroborty were household names in the Soviet Union, with films such as Awaara (1951) and Disco Dancer (1982) drawing more than 60 million viewers in the country . The Hindi film actors Raj Kapoor and Aamir Khan also became very popular in China, with films such as Awaara, 3 Idiots (2009), and Dangal (2016), one of the top 20 highest - grossing films in China . </P> <P> The film industry of the Malay Archipelago (also known as Nusantara) consists primarily of film industries in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore . Over the past century, these four cinemas have collaborated on a number of projects . A number of actors from this region have become some of the most sought - after movie stars in southeast Asia, commonly in Malay - speaking countries . </P>

Who were the first movie stars how did they become stars and why