In the last decade of the 20th century, popular Hindi cinema grew considerably in stature, style and reach. It was a period of creative and commercial activity that was as frenetic and eventful as any other in the annals of filmmaking in Mumbai. Hindi films conquered several new frontiers in geographical and market terms. Quite a few of these releases also managed to push the boundaries of Bollywood`s typically flamboyant, colour-spangled, exaggerated and kitschy narrative idiom.
In the beginning of 1990 the Bollywood dream factory cranked up three of its biggest ever hits: Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and Gadar - Ek Prem Katha. The advent of a fresh breed of directors eager to update and upgrade the time-honoured Bollywood mould and the process of corporatization of film production - emerged as likely harbingers of the shape of things to come.
It cannot be denied that during this period the Hindi film industry did come in news for wrong reasons. Amid all the dimness and disarray, two stories of personal triumph stood out. One was the remarkable comeback of Amitabh Bachchan and the other was the meteoric emergence of Hrithik Roshan.
Hrithik, propelled with a made-to-order launch pad assembled by his father Rakesh Roshan, made a dream debut in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. Bachchan reinvented himself famously and proved his talent once more. He delivered hits like Hum and Khuda Gawah. However he once again went into a self imposed exile. His later films in 1990s failed miserably. Kaun Banega Crorepati catapulted him to stardom once more. Then came Aditya Chopra`s second film, Mohabbatein where he enacted the role of as a cold, no-nonsense residential college principal. The Yash Chopra-produced film, released on a Diwali weekend, took off like a dry cracker, reaffirming the once-infallible actor`s power to set the box office on fire.
If Mohabbatein was the biggest hit of the second half of 2000, the first half of the year belonged entirely to Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. It whipped up a mass frenzy of unprecedented proportions and Hrithik and Amisha Patel were instant stars. After Amitabh Bachchan a vacuum was created by the mid-1990s. This was filled by a slew of male stars led by the Khan triumvirate (Shah Rukh, Aamir, and Salman). They in a way continued the legacy of Bachchan. Competing with them was surely no cakewalk.
The 1990s threw up other success stories as well. The irrepressible Shah Rukh Khan wrestled the top slot among Bollywood`s male stars and held on to that position. His films like Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai established him as the never fading star. The dashing Salman Khan delivered hits such as Karan Arjun, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Biwi No. 1 and he survived as a bankable star all through the decade. Aamir Khan, delivering at least one major hit a year since making his debut in Mansoor Khan`s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, attained the enviable status of an infallible star. His standing as a diligent actor and one of the safest 
box office bets around received a major fillip following the release of Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai and Taarein Zameen Par in quick succession.
The top female star of the decade, Madhuri Dixit, much like Aamir, gave mass hysteria a whole new meaning, achieving near-cult status. No matter which actor she teamed up with, the actress who began her ascent with Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, and Dil, delivered one hit after another virtually all through the 1990s. Her other films include Saajan, Beta, Khalnayak, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Raja, Mrityudand and Dil To Pagal Hai. Simultaneously new names emerged in the Hindi film industry: Kajol, Karisma Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. Yet, Madhuri retained her unrivalled standing as an actress and an industry woman of uncommon substance. She was back with a runaway hit in 2002 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s Devdas.
As far as star director combinations are concerned one of the most talked about box office features of the 1990s was the consistency of the prolific David Dhawan-Govinda partnership. It yielded a series of big hits beginning with the wacky Aankhen and stretching up to the equally crazy Hero No. 1.
Another director-star combination that was in the news was that of Ram Gopal Varma and Urmila Matondkar. Rangeela, Varma`s first Hindi film, was a commercial humdinger, as was Satya, one of the most remarkable releases of the decade. Their other films {Daud, Kaun, Mast, and Jungle) achieved only mixed results. Varma, however, continued through the decade to strengthen his reputation as one of India`s most innovative directors. Few filmmakers in the annals of Mumbai`s popular filmmaking stream have had as much of an impact in so short a time span as the prolific and farsighted Varma.
As the decade ended and the new millennium dawned, a radically new sensibility began to take root in the industry. E. Niwas and Rajat Mukherjee crafted gripping films that employed established popular Hindi cinema conventions to tell disturbing and unusually realistic stories. In Shool, Niwas homed in on an upright, intrepid policeman in a small Bihar town where politics and venality are indistinguishable from each other, while in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, former advertising man Mukherjee drew a by and large convincing portrait of a temperamental woman who is obsessed with a married man.
Ashutosh Gowariker`s Lagaan, a project far more ambitious in scope than either, carried the nascent movement several steps forward in one grand sweep. Superbly scripted, peopled by a gallery of believable characters and outstanding performances, the film quickly achieved cult status and reminded one of the power that popular Hindi films have over the masses without sacrificing quality. Deservedly, Lagaan is already being talked of as a film that is virtually in the same exalted league as Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, and Sholay. Patriotism was once again the flavour of the season. Films like Border, Rang De Basanti, Lakshya, Swadesh and Zameen followed suit.
The high-pitched Gadar was a conventionally structured mass entertainer. Its runaway commercial success triggered the revival of interest in films about true or fictionalized incidents and personages drawn from the pages of history books. There were numerous other projects that were on the anvil at the end of 2001, including Rajkumar Santoshi`s big budget screen rendition of the life of the legendary Indian freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh.
The contemporary Hindi films are carefully packaged and branded product in which every little visual and physical detail, from the components that make up the backdrop to the attire and accessories of the stars. Farhan Akhtar`s remarkably fresh; marvelously vivacious Dil Chahta Hai is one such film. It is about a set of rich, young, urban characters but the film does not succumb to escapist temptations. The three love stories that the narrative revolves around involve real people and tangible emotions. The director shows characters who don imported clothing, fly to foreign lands at will, drive higher-end foreign cars, and sport designer haircuts. However, they exist in the film`s schema not merely to attract the diasporic and urban Indian audience but also to echo the problems that confront India`s next generation.
The lively films made by Sooraj Barjatya, Aditya Chopra, and Karan Johar represent candyfloss entertainment at its best. The recent years have also witnessed the revival of costume dramas. One such film would be Jodhaa Akbar. It is not only romance and fun. The Mumbai filmmakers also strived to strike a balance between commercial viability and artistic integrity. This was evident in John Mathew Matthan`s Sarfarosh, Ram Gopal Varma`s Satya, Mahesh Manjrekar`s Vaastav, and E. Niwas`s Shool. Mani Ratnam did much the same with Roja, Bombay, Yuva and Guru.
The contemporary Hindi films have evolved through ages. From romance to realism to comedy to action; it has traversed a long path. Farhan Akhtar`s Don, Race, Humraaz,
Gangaajal, Omkara, Dhoom, Dhoom2 and others brought back action to the silver screen but with a lot of style and glamour. Needless to say the contemporary Hindi films have a better variety to offer.