The last 26 years of Hindi cinema have witnessed the birth of a phenomenon, unlikely victors at the box office, famous lessons in humility, ancient ‘industry wisdom’ proving itself , Bollywood knocking at the LA-based Academy doors, and asserting a nation’s problems in a clear-eyed manner. It’s been through its fair share of tests and turmoil, and has been pulled in different directions. However, there’s little doubt that we might have been privy to the most broad range of films, compared to any such period in history. 

Here are 26 scenes from the last 26 years that defined Hindi cinema: 

1) A star is (re)born

Kaho Na… Pyaar Hai (2000)

Rakesh Roshan took a big gamble in his son’s launch film by killing him around the interval point. Hrithik Roshan, as Rohit, gets bumped off a bridge only to pull along Sonia (Ameesha Patel) a year later as Raj. This time, he isn’t a working-class man with a scruffy beard. Raj’s hair is slicked back, he’s clean-shaven, and he wears rimless glasses as a style statement. This scene made both kids and grown-ups gasp alike. Later, when he would do that step in Ek Pal Ka Jeena, a nation would no longer be the same. A star is [re]born.

2) ‘Sarat manjoor hai’

Lagaan (2001)

I don’t think enough people think about just how absurd Ashutosh Gowariker’s Oscar-nominated film reads on paper. A British officer being capricious enough to bet three years of tax for a province on a game of cricket. The premise hinges on this crucial scene, which could easily look silly. Yet, to the credit of actors Paul Blackthorne, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and a certain Aamir Khan, it sings. Superbly shot (by Anil Mehta) and edited (by Ballu Saluja), the scene seems in no hurry. As its intensity gradually increases, Gowariker showcases the British empire’s hubris, along with their wilyness to increase stakes in a bet they’re sure to win. The only way out for Bhuvan (Khan) is to win against impossible odds, thus igniting Hindi cinema’s greatest sports film.

3) The bridge

Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

Three friends, seated on the wall of a Goan fort, taking in the scenery – an iconic visual from Farhan Akhtar’s debut. Here, Aamir Khan’s Aakash suggests they should spend a week like this every year, only for Akshaye Khanna’s Siddharth to say it won’t be the same once they leave harbour. Typical quarterlife hardships – ambition, relationships, ideological pursuits – will pull them in different directions, which results in them making a pact to remain ‘friends forever’ – a sentiment too cheesy and sincere for the irreverent dynamic between them. Yet, it’s here that Akhtar shows stellar instincts once again, when he resumes the bridge of the title track – letting this ‘3D’ friendship blossom with the optimism of youth. A new wave has taken off, Hindi cinema won’t look/sound the same again.

4) “Kya duty hai aapki?”

Khakee (2004)

The melodramatic monologue in a mainstream potboiler is its own gift; one that is slowly fading. Few did it better than writer-director Rajkumar Santoshi, a former assistant to Govind Nihalani – having made a career with conscientious, issue-based cinema. Santoshi was at his peak in Khakee, where he (and writer Sridhar Raghavan) gave Amitabh Bachchan his last undisputed great monologue. The scene begins with Bachchan’s team of cops being ‘relieved’ from their assignment, for simply doing it too well. “We’re doing our duty”, the greasy SP tells Bachchan’s DCP Anant Kumar Srivastava. Using his thunderous delivery, Bachchan reminds the greasy cop about his sense of duty. Hell hath no fury, like an Angry Young-ish Man scorned.

5) “Main kuch bhi nahi laa paaya”

Swades (2004)

Mohan Bhargava’s (Shah Rukh Khan) conscience wasn’t built in a day. When he first arrives at his nanny’s (Kishori Ballal) village, he is amused. Mollycoddled by his comforts as a tourist, Mohan doesn’t immerse himself in the village’s issues until he meets Haridas, a farmer exiled for taking up work ‘not permissible’ to his caste. It forces Mohan to face his own elitism (he’s been carrying mineral water since he arrived), which he corrects by sipping his country’s water from an urn. Before he shares his provocative thoughts in the film’s most quotable scenes set during Dusshera, and goes on to help the village generate its own electricity, Mohan must feel defeated for not using his material, intellectual and moral resources to help his country. It’s excellently acted by Khan – possibly drawing on real-life experience, where he’s been a helpless spectator despite having more-than-ample resources.

6) The coronation, the betrayal

Omkara (2006)

Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Othello might be one of the most intoxicating cocktails of mainstream sensibility backed by artistic integrity. Beginning the film with an unrecognisable Saif Ali Khan playing Langda Tyagi – spitting out gutkha like a ninja – the performance reaches its crescendo during the coronation scene. Omi (Ajay Devgn) is choosing his successor, with Langda, apparently, next in line. But in a moment of swift cruelty, Omi hands Langda the ritual plate and turns towards Keshu Firangi (Vivek Oberoi) anointing him the next strongman of the town. Saif Ali Khan’s eyes grappling with the shock, on the verge of tears, while putting up a stoic expression – might go down as one of the best scenes in his acting career.  

7) The quiet explosion

Guru (2007)

Mani Ratnam’s Guru hasn’t aged well – a film deifying a dishonest, law-breaking business tycoon (rumoured to be based on Dhirubhai Ambani), while turning a journalist and a newspaper owner into ‘antagonists’. However, there’s still the pre-interval scene that looks perfectly calibrated like something only when conducted by the Mani Ratnam orchestra. It’s supposed to be a loud confrontation around a corrupt businessman, growing at an unnatural speed, as a couple of journalists try to show him the mirror. And yet, no one raises their voice in the scene. Everyone speaks in short, direct sentences. Rajeev Menon’s cinematography, Sreekar Prasad’s editing, A R Rahman’s score and the four actors in the frame – Abhishek Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, R........

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