About the Book: 50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995-2015
Hindi cinema was trapped in formulaic clichés for decades: lost-and-found
themes, sacrificing mothers, brothers on opposite sides of the law, villains
lording over their dens, colourful molls, six songs, the use of rape as a plot
pivot, and fights galore. It hit an all-time low in the 1980s. Then, in 1991,
came liberalization, and a wave of openness and aspiration swept across urban
India. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was released in 1995 and Hindi cinema became
Bollywood.
A new crop of film-makers began to challenge and break away from established
rules. Over the next twenty years, a number