Top Diwali releases
Top Diwali releases


Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994)

This remake of the old Hindi film, Nadiya Ke Paar, is one of the biggest grossers in Bollywood history.

Producers Rajshri Production incurred heavy loses and had almost given up making films after Babul (1986). Then Sooraj Barjatya directed Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), starring Salman Khan and Bhagyashree. The film was a runaway hit.

The young Barjatya signed on Salman for his second film as well. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! was an even bigger hit. The film was later released in Tamil (Anbaalayam), Telugu (Premalayam) and English (Yours Forever).




Dilwale Dhulaniya Le Jayenge (1995)
Ten years after its release, DDLJ is still running in Mumbai's Maratha Mandir as a daily show.

Directed by Yash Chopra's son, Aditya, this debut film starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. The cast also included Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Karan Johar, Mandira Bedi and Parmeet Sethi.

The blockbuster came with its share of controversy. Though Adi was credited as the film's writer, Honey Irani (who had written for Yash Raj's earlier productions Lamhe, Aaina and Darr), claimed she had worked extensively on DDLJ's screenplay but had not been credited.

The Chopras kept mum, and Irani broke all ties with the banner.




Raja Hindustani (1996)
Many claimed the film was wrongly titled. They felt it should have been called Rani Hindustani in honour of Karisma Kapoor's brilliant new avatar.

The bushy eyebrows and raw look was replaced by a stunning new persona. Raja Hindustani gave Karisma's career a huge boost.

Aamir Khan, who was awarded a Filmfare Award for his performance, was by then disillusioned about the award ceremony. Apparently, he felt his performance in Rangeela, which released the previous year, should have won an award.

The award, however, went to SRK for DDLJ.

Since then, Aamir has not attended any award ceremony.




Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai pitted two spirited ladies -- Karisma Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit -- pit against each other.

Karisma was not, in fact, the first choice. Chopra had offered the role to Juhi Chawla and then Raveena Tandon, but they did not want to perform opposite the hugely talented Dixit.

Karisma held her own in the movie, and DTPH went on to become a big hit. She even bagged a National Award for the film.




Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
Karan Johar's debut film saw the DDLJ couple recreate their onscreen magic.

Rani Mukerji was the third angle in the tale, and went to become a regular feature in all of Karan's directorial ventures.

Again, Rani was not Karan's first choice. Her role was first offered to Raveena Tandon, Aishwarya Rai, Karisma Kapoor, Twinkle Khanna and Urmila Matondkar.

For those who love trivia: Nikhil Advani, the director of Kal Ho Naa Ho, appears for a few minutes in KKHH, as the love-struck youth who gets interviewed by Neelam (who plays a television host).




Hum Saath-Saath Hai (1999)
This Rajshri production had a huge star cast that included Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Monish Behl, Karisma Kapoor, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam, Alok Nath, Reema Lagoo, Satish Shah and Himani Shivpuri.

Madhuri Dixit was initially offered Tabu's role, but refused; she felt it would not be appropriate for her to play Salman's bhabhi after playing his romantic interest in HAKH.

Salman, too, was not very happy with his role; he was more interested in playing the happy-go-lucky Vinod, a role that eventually went to Saif Ali Khan.

The 'modern' version of the Ramayana worked for the masses, and was declared a hit. Unfortunately, this has been their last success till date. Their next two releases, Uff Yeh Mohabbat Hai and Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon bombed at the box office.




Mohabbatein (2000)
Five years after his first directorial venture, Aditya Chopra directed his second film, Mohabbatein. The idea of Mohabbatein had been with him for 10 years, even before he made DDLJ. At that time, he believed it was too mature a subject for him to handle.

Sridevi was initially approached to play Amitabh Bachchan's love interest, but she did not take up the offer. Eventually, when the film was made, no one was cast opposite Amitabh.

Mohabbatein released with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir.

Did you know: Amitabh and Shah Rukh were offered Sanjay Dutt's and Hrithik Roshan's roles in the film.

While both films were a hit, Mohabbatein stole a march over Mission Kashmir.





Asoka, Indian (2001)
Shah Rukh Khan's Asoka and Sunny Deol's Indian were rare Diwali flops; they bombed badly at the box office.

This phenomenon repeated itself the next year as well as Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, Anarth, Waah Tera Kya Kehna and Leela failed to make an impact.




Pinjar (2003)
Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi's directorial debut, Pinjar, was applauded for impressive direction, superb performances and brilliant sets.

In fact, it made people look at Urmila Matondkar with renewed interest.

Unfortunately, the film did not light up the box office. This was the third year that the Diwali release was a flop.




Veer-Zaara, Mughal-e-Azam, Aitraaz, Naach (2004)
Of the four releases last year, Naach bombed at the box office. The other Diwali biggies were winners.

Yash Chopra made a directorial comeback with Veer-Zaara after seven years, and it paid off.

Abbas-Mastan's Aitraaz established Priyanka Chopra in the big league of actresses and brought her such offers like Farhan Akhar's Don, Rituparno Ghosh's Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Rakesh Roshan's Krrish and Farah Khan's Happy New Year.

Mughal-e-Azam, which was re-released in colour, was the biggest hit of the four.