There is no dearth of classic Hindi films in Indian cinema. While some of them were inspired from literature, others were costume dramas. As time passed by more classic Hindi films came into being based on original scripts. This time they were either simple love stories or revenge tragedies and even social dramas. Heroes no longer sprang up from novels or historical tales. The protagonists seemed more real as the films began to portray the life of the common man.

One of the earliest classic Hindi films was definitely Pramatesh Chandra Barua`s Devdas. The film was inspired from Sarat Chandra Chatterjee`s Bengali novel by the same name. Almost more than 10 years after Devdas films like Kismet, Andaz, Mahal, Barsaat and others were made. During the 1940s stars like Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Madhubala and several others sizzled onscreen. Bimal Roy`s Do Bigha Zameen in 1953 changed the way Hindi films presented its heroes and heroines. For the first time Hindi classic films came up with a subject that dealt with common man. Later Raj Kapoor`s Shree 420 followed. While discussing about the classic Hindi films one cannot miss out Mehboob Khan`s Mother India or the cult films of Guru Dutt, such as Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke Phool, Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam and others.

The later half of 1950s saw the making of Sujata and a new star rose on the horizon of Hindi films- Nutan. Films like Bandini and Sujata catapulted her to immense success. 1960s was a golden age for classic Hindi films. Mughal-e-Azam was the first to release that year. The opulent sets, incredible performances and the enchanting chemistry between Madhubala and Dilip Kumar swept the audiences of their feet. The charm of the grandiose sets and the haunting melodies have continued through ages and even in the jet age the fascination for K.Asif`s classic Hindi film remains the same. The same year witnessed the release of Sangam, Aradhana, Padosan, Ram Aur Shyam, Waqt, Mera Saaya, Junglee and others. He have not done schooling

Raj Kapoor`s Mera Naam Joker and Meena Kumari`s Pakeezah released in 1970s. Rajesh Khanna was the superstar of the `70s. On the other hand Dev Anand`s Hare Ram Hare Krishna introduced Zeenat Aman, a brilliant female actor and a style icon. The later half of the 1970s witnessed the rise of another superstar who was destined to rule Hindi film industry for the years to come. Amitabh Bachchan came into public glare with Zanjeer. After this there was no looking back for Amitabh Bachchan. What followed was a string of hit films like Deewar, Sholay, Namak Haram, Mr. Natwarlal, Namak Halal, Abhimaan and others. Sholay is still considered one of the top grosser in Indian cinema. The effect of GP Sippy`s Sholay keeps on continuing. Indian cinema considers it as the biggest commercial success of all times.

Along this time a set of directors rose to the forefront who popularized the middle path cinema. Directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee were the pioneers. Humour was back on the big screen with a bang. And this time it was not slapstick. Humour on screen was synonymous with wit and quick repartees. Stars like Utpal Dutta, Amol Palekar, Rekha, Ashok Kumar, Farooq Sheikh, Deven Burma, Dina Pathak and others explored this genre. Once again the classic Hindi films were dealing with common men; their aspirations, their problems and their love life. Khoobsurat, Golmaal, Hamari Bahu Alka, Khatta Meetha, Rajanigandha, Chhoti Si Baat, Bawarchi and other films were released all over India.

In the 1980s a new batch of actors hogged the limelight. Unconventional films like Salaam Bombay, Masoom, Kalyug, Nikaah and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron were appreciated by the audiences. Besides Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Om Puri, Kamal Hassan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, Sunjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi the later half of the 1980s witnessed the rise of the Khans- Aamir, Salman and a little later ShahRukh captured the centrestage.

This was the new crop of artistes who were to shoulder the responsibility of taking Bollywood or the Hindi film industry to newer heights. Nonetheless it was the classic Hindi films that had laid the ground for the contemporary Hindi films to explore newer genres.