The Top Bollywood Diwali Releases Of The 90s

Diwali is one of the most important festivals in India. This is not only restricted to festivities but also to the Indian Box office. Many films have been released on the lucrative Diwali release date and have set the cash registers ringing. We'll look at how many releases happened in Bollywood during the 90s till the 2000s

1990 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movie

Jamai Raja

Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, and Hema Malini starrer Jamai Raja were the only Diwali release in the year 1990. The film was a remake of the Chiranjeevi film Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu.

The film's plot revolved around a street smart man Raja who falls in love with Rekha the daughter of a rich industrialist Durgeshwari Devi. The industrialist puts forth a condition that Raja must stay with her family to marry Rekha. Raja accepts the proposal and how does he manage to outwit Durgeshwari? The film was a commercial success at the box office

Director - A. Kodanarami Reddy
Cast – Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Hema Malini
Producer - T. Trivikrama Rao
Music - Laxmikant Pyarelal
Cinematography - VSR Swamy
Editing - Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Satellite Rights - Sony (shared with Free To Air [FTA] channels)
OTT Rights - YouTube [Shemaroo], JioCinema, ShemarooMe

1991 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movie

Akayla

Amitabh Bachchan's Akayla was the only release in the year 1991. Besides Amitabh Bachchan, the film starred Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrita Singh, Shashi Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi Keith Stevenson among others.

The film's plot revolved around an alcoholic cop Vijay Varma who loses his loved ones through the actions of the Braganza twins. Will he succeed in taking his revenge for the loss of his loved ones or will he uphold the law? Although the film got a good opening the film became a flop at the box office.

Director - Ramesh Sippy
Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh, Keith Stevenson, Jackie Shroff
Producers - Mushir-Riaz
Music - Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Cinematography - K. K. Mahajan
Editing - M. S. Shinde
Satellite Rights - Zee
OTT Rights - Zee5

1992 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Jigar, Drohi, and Yalgaar

Three Films Jigar, Drohi, and Yalgaar were released during Diwali in 1992. All of them were action films with Jigar being a martial arts action film, Drohi being a crime drama, and Yalgaar being a masala action film.

All of them were released with hype with Jigar getting huge prominence being Ajay Devgan's second film after his successful debut in Phool Aur Kaante, Yalgaar because of Sanjay Dutt and Feroz Khan's collaboration and the hit music, and Drohi because of its superb performance in its Telugu version titled Antham.

Although Drohi was a hit with critics, Jigar was a huge box office success because of the hype, Yalgaar was a critical and commercial failure.

Synopsis and details of Drohi: Bollywood Movie

Drohi revolves around an orphan Raghav who becomes a contract killer due to unavoidable circumstances. A ruthless gangster JD Sethi hires Raghav from time to time to carry out assassinations, Just when Raghav's life starts looking bleak he falls in love with Bhavana an ornithology student, Raghav decides to hide his profession of the risk of losing his love but through one instance she gets to know about his profession and leaves him What happens to Raghav after the separation, Does he reform or go back to his old ways?

Director - Ram Gopal Varma
Cast – Nagarjuna, Urmila Matondkar, Danny Denzongpa
Producer - Boney Kapoor
Music - R. D. Burman, M. M. Kreem, Mani Sharma
Cinematography - Teja, Chota. K. Naidu
Editing - Shankar
Satellite Rights - Zee
OTT Rights - Zee5

Synopsis and details of Jigar: Bollywood Movie

Jigar is the story of Raju and his family. Raju and his friend Duryodhan train under Lal Bihari's martial art school. Lal Bihari and Duryodhan rape Raju's sister and almost kill Raju after he tries to fight with them. Done and dusted Raju with revenge on his mind decides to train under Baba Thakur to defeat Duryodhan and Bihari. Does he defeat his enemies? Will Raju's family get justice?

Director - Farogh Siddique
Cast – Ajay Devgan, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Arjun
Producer - Salim Akhtar
Music - Anand - Milind
Cinematography - Akram Khan
Editing - Suresh Chaturvedi
Satellite Rights - Zee
OTT Rights - Zee5

Synopsis and details of Yalgaar: Bollywood Movie

Yalgaar tells the story of two childhood friends who turn foes because one of them chooses the path of law the other chooses the path of crime. The war between these feuding families tells the story of Yalgaar.

Director - Feroz Khan
Cast – Feroz Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Kabir Bedi, Mukesh Khanna, Nagma, Manisha Koirala
Producer - Feroz Khan
Music - Channi Singh
Cinematography - S. M. Anwar
Editing - Feroz Khan
Satellite Rights - Sony
OTT Rights - SonyLiv, YouTube [Goldmines Hindi]

1993 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Baazigar and Bedardi

This Diwali was the first time when Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgan's films clashed at the box office. While Shah Rukh Khan was a considerable newbie who had done mostly supporting roles in films Ajay Devgan was an established action star. While Bedardi got a good opening Baazigar was the one which emerged victorious in the clash. Baazigar established Abbas-Mustan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Shilpa Shetty as formidable forces in the industry. Bedardi despite having a stellar star cast including the likes of Naseeruddin Shah and Urmila Matondkar sank without a trace.

Synopsis and details of Baazigar: Bollywood Movie

Baazigar revolved around Ajay Sharma who seeks vengeance against Madan Chopra for killing his father and making his mother go insane. He plots his revenge by falling in love with Chopra's two daughters Seema and Priya. After he kills one of them he sets out to destroy the whole family. Will he get his revenge?

Directors - Abbas-Mustan
Cast – Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Dalip Tahil, Siddharth Ray, Johnny Lever
Producer - Ratan Jain
Music - Anu Malik
Cinematography - Thomas. A. Xavier
Editing - Hussain. M. Burmawalla
Satellite Rights - Zee
OTT Rights - Amazon Prime Video, MX Player, YouTube [Venus Movies]

Synopsis and details of Bedardi: Bollywood Movie

Bedardi revolved around the story of two brothers, one of whom is a lovable professor played by Naseeruddin Shah and another is an unemployed but educated youngster played by Ajay Devgan. Both of their clash with an influential goon Kanhaiya played by Kiran Kumar. The goon resolves to make the brothers' life a living ****. Will the brothers defeat him?

Director - Krishnakant Pandya
Cast – Ajay Devgan, Urmila Matondkar, Nasseruddin Shah, Kiran Kumar
Producers - Lawrence D'Souza, Manohar Pandya
Music - Laxmikant - Pyarelal
Cinematography - Kishore Kapadia
Editing - R. Rajendran
Satellite Rights - Colors
OTT Rights - YouTube [Ultra Cinema]

1994 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Andaz Apna Apna, Suhaag, Udhar Ki Zindagi and Yaar Gaddar

The Diwali releases of 1994 were the most talked-about of the lot, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan's Suhaag with Mithun Chakraborty and Saif Ali Khan's Yaar Gaddar were already scheduled. The much delayed Andaz Apna Apna and Udhar Ki Zindagi too released on the same weekend. In all these films Suhaag was a commercial success,

Andaz Apna Apna and Yaar Gaddaar underperformed at the box office. The then underperformance of Andaz Apna Apna would never prove a deterrent to its status in the coming years. The film now is considered to be one of the funniest Indian films and has redefined modern Indian comedy to a huge extent.

Synopsis and details of Andaz Apna Apna: Bollywood Movie

Andaz Apna Apna is the story of two naive guys Amar and Prem who want to marry a rich industrialist's daughter Raveena Bajaj. Meanwhile, Bajaj's evil twin brother Teja too wants Bajaj's property. This confuses several characters from getting involved in this madness.

Director - Rajkumar Santoshi
Cast – Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Shakti Kapoor, Paresh Rawal
Producer - Vinay Sinha
Music - Tushar Bhatia (songs), Viju Shah (score)
Cinematography - Ishwar Bidri
Editing - V. N. Mayekar
Satellite Rights - Sony
OTT Rights - Netflix, Amazon Prime Video

Synopsis and details of Suhaag: Bollywood Movie

Suhaag is the story of Ajay and Raj who are best friends and college pranksters, When Ajay tries to find his birth certificate, the revelation in it leads to a conspiracy that may change the course of his friendship with Raj, What is written in the certificate? How is Raj connected to it drives the plot of the movie?

Director - Kuku Kohli
Cast – Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Nagma, Karisma Kapoor, Dalip Tahil Suresh Oberoi
Producer - Anil Sharma
Music - Anand - Milind
Cinematography - Sameer Arya
Editor - Kuldip Mehan
Satellite Rights - Zee
OTT Rights - Zee5

Synopsis and details of Udhar Ki Zindagi: Bollywood Movie

Udhar Ki Zindagi tells the story of Sitaram a distraught old man who had banished his son Vasudev for marrying Suman against his wishes. Years later Sitaram’s granddaughter Sita comes to visit Sitaram, Will Sitaram accept her love for him?

Director – K. V. Raju
Cast – Jeetendra, Kajol, Moushami Chaterjee, Rohit Bhatia, Sujata Mehta
Producers – Rajesh Mishra, SS Mishra
Music – Anand Milind
Cinematography – S. Naidu
Editing – S. Heera
Satellite Rights – Star
OTT Rights – JioCinema, ShemarooMe, MX Player

Synopsis and details of Yaar Gaddaar: Bollywood Movie

Yaar Gaddar is the story of a tough police officer Shankar, Although he is a strict officer he loves and cares for his brother Jai dearly, But when Jai is embroiled in various criminal activities, Will Shankar uphold the law or help his brother in clearing his name? Is Jai a criminal or someone else has framed him?

Director - Umesh Mehra
Cast – Mithun Chakraborty, Saif Ali Khan, Somy Ali, Shweta, Prem Chopra, Gulshan Grover
Producers - F. C. Mehra, Parvesh Mehra
Music - Anu Malik
Cinematography - S. Pappu
Editors - Kamal Saigal, Satish Patankar
Satellite Rights - Colors
OTT Rights – Netflix

1995 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

The sole Diwali Release in the year 1995 was the big blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in lead roles, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is considered to be one of the biggest blockbusters Bollywood has ever produced. The film is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon and sets the cash registers ringing. The film's impact was profound, especially in the NRI diaspora. As a homage, the film still as of today is running successfully in Maratha Mandir Cinema in Mumbai wherein it is screened as a matinee show.

Synopsis and details for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: Bollywood Movie

Raj and Simran fall in love during a holiday in Europe, but Simran’s strict father has fixed her marriage in his hometown. Now it's up to Raj to prove that he is the best match for Simran to win his family’s confidence without revealing that he is her lover.

Director - Aditya Chopra
Cast – Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Parmeet Sethi, Satish Shah, Farida Jalal
Producer - Yash Chopra
Music - Jatin-Lalit
Cinematography – Manmohan Singh
Editing Keshav Naidu
Satellite Rights – Star
OTT Rights – Amazon Prime Video

1996 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Ghatak, Sapoot and Raja Hindustani

While Ghatak and Sapoot were the releases on Diwali weekend Raja Hindustani was released in the next week. Although all three films received a huge opening especially Raja Hindustani due to its superb music had more buzz. Ghatak and Sapoot catered to the same audiences (action mass masala films) while Raja Hindustani was more of a family-friendly romantic drama.

Of All these Raja Hindustani managed to become a stupendous success at the box office. It went on to become a huge blockbuster and at that point being Aamir Khan’s highest-grossing movie to date. The film was a huge hit especially in the interiors of India. Besides Raja Hindustani, Ghatak too performed amazingly well with huge critical acclaim coming in for the performances and the action sequences. Sapoot which was released amidst huge fanfare tanked at the box office with negative reviews all over the place.

Synopsis and details for Raja Hindustani: Bollywood Movie

Raja Hindustani is a poor taxi driver from the hills, Aarti who comes to her mother's hometown hires Raja. Raja and Aarti throughout the journey fall in love and marry. Aarthi’s father Bakshrath wants Raja to come to Mumbai but Raja refuses. Over a period although the couple lives happily in the hills, differences crop up due to Bakshrath’s second wife Shalini’s manipulation, who is after his money. Will they ever reunite. and clear their differences?

Director – Dharmesh Darshan
Cast – Aamir Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Suresh Oberoi, Archana Puran Singh, Johnny Lever
Producers – Ali Morani, Karim Morani
Music – Nadeem Shravan [songs] Surinder Sodhi [score]
Cinematography – W.B. Rao
Editing – Bharat Singh
Satellite Rights – Colors
OTT Rights – Amazon Prime Video, JioCinema

Synopsis and details for Ghatak: Bollywood Movie

Kashi a wrestler takes his adoptive ailing father Shambunath to Mumbai for medical treatment, wherein he stays with his elder brother Shiv. Katya a notorious gangster terrorizes the people and is influential and powerful in the city. When Kashi opposes Katya’s henchmen and kills one of his brothers he vows to destroy Kashi’s life. Will Kashi protect his family from Katya?

Director – Rajkumar Santoshi
Cast – Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrish Puri, Danny Denzongpa, Om Puri, KK Raina
Producer – Rajkumar Santoshi
Music – R. D. Burman, Anu Malik (songs) Vanraj Bhatia (score)
Cinematography – Ishwar Bidri
Editor – V. N. Mayekar
Satellite Rights – Sony-B4U
OTT Rights – SonyLIV, YouTube [B4U, Goldmines]

Synopsis and details for Sapoot: Bollywood Movie

Singhania a noble-hearted mafia boss is killed by his rivals who deal in drugs and narcotics. Raj his elder son is Singhania’s second in command while Prem his younger son is a womanizing policeman. Both of them try to take revenge for their father’s killers, Will they succeed?

Director – Jagdish A. Sharma
Cast – Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Sonali Bendre, Kader Khan, Prem Chopra, Mukesh Rishi
Producers – Jagdish A. Sharma, Jaydev Thackeray
Music – Anu Malik
Cinematography – Damodar Naidu
Editing – Hussain A. Burmawalla
Satellite Rights – Sony
Digital Rights – SonyLIV, YouTube [Ultra Movie Parlor]

1997 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Dil To Pagal Hai, Bhai, Ghulam-E-Mustafa

Dil To Pagal Hai, Bhai, and Ghulam-E-Mustafa was the Diwali releases of 1997. Before the release, Dil Toh Pagal Hai had a superb pre-release buzz because of Yash Chopra’s return to direction, the superhit soundtrack, and the chemistry between the three leads i.e Shahrukh Khan Karisma Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit. The film as expected was a commercial success at the box office but it paled in comparison to the mammoth success of DDLJ.

Bhai went on to become a surprise hit at the box office shocking everyone in the trade circles. The film won over audiences over its action and emotional content and also received positive reviews from critics. Ghulam – E – Mustafa which was expected to become a hit and give stiff competition to Dil To Pagal Hai performed below-average at the box office.

Synopsis and Details of Dil Toh Pagal Hain : Bollywood Movie

Rahul heads a dance troupe in which one of the dancers Nisha is madly in love with him, but through a series of coincidences with Nisha’s injury being one of them, Pooja a new dancer in his troupe falls in love with Rahul, Rahul too is in love with Pooja but Pooja is engaged to Ajay a businessman. Will Rahul and Pooja confess their feelings? Will Nisha and Ajay let go of their love for both of them tell the story of the film?

Director – Yash Chopra
Cast – Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor, Akshay Kumar
Producer – Yash Chopra
Music – Uttam Singh
Cinematography – Manmohan Singh
Editing – V. Karnik
Satellite Rights – Star
OTT Rights – Amazon Prime Video

Synopsis and Details of Bhai : Bollywood Movie

Kundan a naïve villager along with his brother Kisna comes to Mumbai to make a living, Kundan becomes an auto driver while Kisna is enrolled in a school, When Kisna witnesses a gang war between two Gangsters Malik and David he is killed by David’s henchmen. With revenge in his mind, Kundan himself becomes a feared gangster with the heart of a gold. Kundan’s rising influence is a problem for both police and gangsters. Will Kundan fight all his enemies? What will happen to his family?

Director – Deepak Shivdasani
Cast – Sunil Shetty, Pooja Batra, Sonali Bendre, Kader Khan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajendra Gupta
Producer – Deepak Shivdasani
Music – Anand-Milind (songs) Sandeep Chowta (score)
Cinematography – Sameer Reddy
Editing – V. N. Mayekar
Satellite Rights – Sony, Dhinchaak
OTT Rights – YouTube, Dailymotion

Synopsis and Details of Ghulam-E-Mustafa : Bollywood Movie

Mustafa is an assassin working for Shanta Prasad [Abba]. He falls in love with Kavita and tries to leave the crime world, but Abba’s rivals kill her. For redemption, he decides to stay at Vidya Dixit’s place and solve their problems. But Abba and his rivals won’t let him live in peace. Will Mustafa redeem himself? Will he go against those whom he was raised?

Director – Partho Ghosh
Cast – Nana Patekar, Raveena Tandon, Paresh Raval, Ravi Behl, Mohnish Bahl, Mohan Joshi
Producer – Dinesh Gandhi, P.G.Shrikanth
Music – Rajesh Roshan, Amar Haldipur
Cinematography – K. V. Ramanna
Editing – R. Rajendran
Satellite Rights – Colors
OTT Rights – Voot, YouTube [Shemaroo]

1998 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

The Diwali year 1998 was certainly the biggest Diwali release of the decade. With Shahrukh Khan’s Kuch Kuch Hota hai and Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan released on the same day. Both movies had well-received trailers and had superb music as well. The box office was literally on fire. While Kuch Kuch Hota Hai became SRK’s biggest box office hit after DDLJ, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan consolidated Govinda’s position as a star while also making Amitabh Bachchan’s career afloat.

Synopsis and Details of Kuch Kuch Hota Hain : Bollywood Movie

Rahul and Anjali are best friends since their college days. Over time, Anjali falls in love with Rahul although Rahul is in love with Tina. Rahul marries Tina and leads a happy life, but when Tina dies due to childbirth complications, Rahul decides that he will not remarry his daughter also named Anjali. When Anjali becomes 9 years old she gets to know about Tina’s last wish which is the remarriage of Rahul with Anjali, his college sweetheart. Now it's up to Rahul’s daughter to make the remarriage possible against all odds.

Directed by Karan Johar
Cast – Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Salman Khan, Sana Saeed, Johnny Lever, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher
Producer – Yash Johar
Music – Jatin-Lalit
Cinematography – Santhosh Thundiyil
Editing – Sanjay Sankla
Satellite Rights – Colors
OTT Rights – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video

Synopsis and Details of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan: Bollywood Movie

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan revolves around two police officers Arjun and Pyare who share an unhealthy rivalry but work well as a team. A big shot in the society Zorawar Siddiqui is a hardened criminal and a smuggler and is on the trail of Arjun and Pyare. Meanwhile Bade Miyan and Chote Miyan the lookalikes of Arjun and Pyare are siblings and are fraudsters. Because being lookalikes Arjun and Mohan are accused of the forgery done by them. This results in comedic chaos. Will Arjun and Mohan nab their lookalikes? How does Zorawar is connected to them?

Director – David Dhawan
Cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Ramya Krishnan, Raveena Tandon, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal
Producer – Vashu Bhagnani
Music – Viju Shah
Cinematography – K. S. Prakash Rao
Editing – A. Muthu
Satellite Rights – Star
OTT Rights – Disney+Hotstar, Erosnow, JioCinema

1999 - Diwali Released Bollywood Movies

Hum Saath Saath Hain and Shool

The Last Diwali releases of the decade were a stark contrast to each other, Hum Saath Saath Hain was a family drama film laced with emotions while Shool on the other hand was a gritty depiction of the standard masala movie template of a cop and a politician being at loggerheads. Both the films found their audience and were successful at the box office. While Hum Saath Saath Hain was a blockbuster and the biggest hit of the year, Shool was a nominal hit at the box office.

Synopsis and Details of Hum Saath Saath Hain: Bollywood Movie

Ramkishan Chaturvedi a businessman.with his 1-year-old son, Vivek survives an accident but loses his wife Lakshmi. He remarries a kind-hearted woman Mamta and they have three children Prem, Vinod, and Sangeeta. The four siblings including Vivek share a deep bond but when a misunderstanding crops up within the family will the bond stay stronger?

Directed by Sooraj Barjatya
Cast – Salman Khan, Mohnish Bahl, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Reema Lagoo, Alok Nath, Neelam Kothari
Produced by Rajkumar Barjatya
Music – Raamlaxman
Cinematography – Rajan Kinagi
Editor – Mukhtar Ahmed
Satellite Rights – Zee
OTT Rights – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video

Synopsis and Details of Shool: Bollywood Movie

Shool is the story of Inspector Samar Pratap Singh an honest police officer, who is transferred to Motihari Bihar, He comes in loggerheads with Bacchu Yadav a politician from the ruling party, and his corrupt subordinates as well. How does he manage to tackle all his problems? Does he keep his family safe? Will he arrest Bachchu for his crimes?

Directed by Eeshwar Nivas
Cast – Manoj Bajpayee, Raveena Tandon, Sayaji Shinde, Ganesh Yadav
Produced by Nitin Manmohan, Ram Gopal Varma
Music – Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy, Sandeep Chowta
Cinematography – Hari Nair
Editing – Bhanodaya
Satellite Rights – Star
OTT Rights – Amazon Prime Video, JioCinema, ShemarooMe

Some facts about Diwali Released Bollywood Movies of '90s

Shah Rukh Khan has zero flops in this decade of Diwali Releases. All of his Diwali releases have been huge hits at the box office and at the same time are culturally significant movies both in respect to his career and Indian cinema concerning Bollywood
Aamir Khan too has two of the most significant films In his career too have a Diwali release.
Ajay Devgan after Jigar’s success also favors the Diwali release date for his projects.
Most of The Diwali Releases have Karisma Kapoor in the lead role, Kajol follows suit with the 2nd spot.
Yash Raj Films and Rajkumar Santoshi have two of their films releasing on Diwa
From the year 1995 onwards the highest-grossing movies of the year have been released on the festival of Diwali.