"Asif trusted me enough to leave the delineation of Salim completely to me."
DESIblitz is commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema with an online poll, comprising of a list of 50 Bollywood films, primarily in the Hindi and Urdu languages.
The films have been selected after conducting extensive research about the Bollywood industry as a whole. The expert views of film critics were also taken into account when compiling the final list of movies.
The wide range of films on the list, feature everything connected with the world of Bollywood – the genres, the actors and actresses, producers and directors, comedians and villains, songs and dances, stunts and costumes, mythology and traditions, aesthetic articulation and art that make up all the ingredients of successful film making.
Bollywood is a colourful guide to one of the most powerful film industries across the globe. The films chosen in the poll are like ‘reading the popular’, having entertained many people of all age groups and background.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
Here is a run down of the different eras included in our poll, highlighting some of the key stars and films:
1950’s – Golden Age
The 1950’s era was known as the ‘Golden Age’ of Indian cinema, following the partition of India. Some of the most critically acclaimed movies with a social impact were produced during this time.
This period saw ‘The Showman’, Raj Kapoor and the ‘Tragedy King’, Dilip Kumar, delivering stellar performances in Awaara (1951) and Madhumati (1958). Aan (1952) was the first Technicolor film of its time with a swashbuckling story.
In 1955, Raj Kapoor gave us the popular anthem song, ‘Mera Juta Hai Japani’, from the film Shree 420. B.R. Chopra’s Naya Daur (1957) highlighted the advent of modern times (Industrialisation).
Mother India (1957) was Mehboob Khan’s remarkable story of a woman’s struggle starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Raj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar. Other top actors from this era included: Ajit, Nazir Hussain, Jeevan, Prithviraj Kapoor, Murad, Nimmi, Pran, Prem Nath and Vyjayanthimala to name a few.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
1960’s – Golden Years
The 60’s saw many more films being produced in colour. K. Asif’s masterpiece Mughal-e-Azam (1960), featuring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala popularised the trend of romantic movies and is often considered as one of the greatest movies of all time.
Recalling the golden days, legendary actor Dilip Kumar said: “Mughal-e-Azam was an altogether different experience. Asif trusted me enough to leave the delineation of Salim completely to me.”
Shammi Kapoor and Lalita Pawar played important roles in Junglee (1961) and Professor (1962); both films were musical comedies, with classic hits from singer Mohammad Rafi.
Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman and Guide (1967) won the Filmfare award for Best Actor, Actress and Film. The evergreen ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ from Shakti Samantha’s Aradhana (1969) still looks mint fresh.
Many of these actors held and dominated the industry for many years and became legends in their own right. Saira Bano, Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore emerged as prominent actors from this time.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
1970’s – Masala Movies
Who can forget the 1970’s! Social and economic changes took films to a new direction as we now entered the Masala era, excluding Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah (1972), which tells the story of a courtesan played by Meena Kumari. The same year saw dream girl Hema Malini play a double role in the box office hit Seeta Aur Geeta (1972).
Raj Kapoor produced and directed the film Bobby (1973), which had the young Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in the lead roles.
Ramesh Sippy directed the iconoclastic Sholay (1975), one of the most popular films ever made in the history of Indian cinema, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya (Bhaduri) Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan.
Bachchan along with Shashi Kapoor and Nirupa Roy went onto deliver a breathtaking performance in Yash Chopra’s Deewar (1975). Big B’s supremacy continued in Manmohan Desai’s multi-starrer action comedy Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Prakash Mehra’s Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), starring the sultry Rekha.
Actors like Parveen Babi, A.K. Hangal, Satyen Kappu, Ashok Kumar, Ranjeet and Neetu Singh all made a name for themselves in the filmy world. Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar recorded hit numbers during this era.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
1980’s – Family Centric and Romantic Musicals
The 1980’s saw the rise of Shekhar Kapur who directed the hit films Masoom (1983) and Mr. India (1987). Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (1982) starred the amazing Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The movie is about a film director who leaves his wife for an actress.
Qurbani (1980) directed by cassanova, Feroz Khan, was a love triangle, featuring superstars Vinod Khanna and Zeenat Aman. This film had the popular track ‘Aap Jaisa Koi Mere,’ sung by Nazia Hassan from Pakistan.
This period saw quite a few romantic films like Hero (1983), Saagar (1983), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989).
Some of the fans favourites included: Juhi Chawla, Kamal Hassan, Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Meenakshi Seshadri, Jackie Shroff and Sridevi.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
1990’s – New Technologies
The 1990’s marked the introduction of advanced technology, special effects, choreography and fashion. The corporate sector invested in finer scripts and promoted genuine talent.
The ‘Khan Brigade’ (Aamir, Shahrukh, Salman) came into the limelight, as did heroines such as Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Karisma Kapoor and Manisha Koirala who all gave super-hit/blockbuster films.
Though this era presented a mixed genre of films, romantic movies once again had the edge with movies like 1942: A Love Story (1994), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Raja Hindustani (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).
Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) is the longest running Bollywood movie of all time starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol:
“18 years after its release in India and into markets, Aditya Chopra’s SRK-Kajol starrer #DDLJ to release in Peru shortly,” said film critic and trade analyst, Taran Adarsh.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
2000’s – Twenty-First Century Cinema
Moving into the twenty-first century, Bollywood reached out to new markets, giving Indian cinema a global appeal. Many of the films were screened at film festivals around the world. Global studio houses invested in Bollywood to give further impetus to the industry.
Ashutosh Gowariker’s sports drama film, Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Oscars in the foreign film category.
Stars from this era have included Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif to name a few.
Top directors such as Farhan Akhtar, Farah Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Imtiaz Ali have entertained audiences with some phenomenal films.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
2010’s – Bollywood’s Hyper-GrowthÂ
This era started with Dabangg (2010), before Barfi! (2012), collected many accolades at various awards ceremonies. Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express (2013) cleverly used the South formula combined with a song featuring Tamil superstar Rajnikanth to rock collections at the box office.
Indian cinema has evolved from the 50’s till now and made a mark of its own.
DESIblitz encourages everyone to take a look at our online poll and cast your votes by selecting your favourite Bollywood films. The listings are in chronological order, categorised by the era and year.
VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS:
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BOLLYWOOD POLL (click here)
The poll will close at 12pm (midday) on 19th December, 2013.
Loading ...