With one superhit, half a dozen hits and some above-average earners under its belt, the Indian box-office is holding its breath as much-awaited films ready to hit the screen.

The first quarter of 2006 was encouraging in terms of box-office returns. With Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Rang De Basanti" turning into a cult film, especially in the metros, and Priyadarshan's comedy "Malamaal Weekly" made on a small budget of Rs.60 million raking in Rs.120 million, Bollywood could not stop smiling.

Small and experimental films have not disappointed either. While Rajat Kapoor's wife-swapping tale "Mixed Doubles" did better than expected, Homi Adajania's dark comedy "Being Cyrus" with a budget of Rs.30 million earned thrice that amount.

Big-budget box-office fiascos like "Family", "Fight Club" and "Humko Deewana Kar Gaye" have been offset by moderate success of Milan Luthria's "Taxi No. 9211" and "Shaadi Se Pehle". Even "Saawan - The Love Season" has managed to stay on the marquees for three weeks owing to a cameo by Salman Khan.

While 2005 was a good year for trade in terms of business - "Page 3" and "Black" were the biggest hits in the first quarter - this year seems all set to do better.

For an industry that churns out the most number of films in the world, the Mumbai studio-based Hindi film trade has struggled to improve its hit to flop ratio. Compare this year's figures with past years' and there is reason enough to cheer.

Sustained success is a sure sign that Bollywood is evolving as an industry. And the increasing diversity of entertainers churned out by Hindi filmdom is even more heartening.

The sheer variety that went on the marquees on Friday shows that Bollywood is in the throes of taking flight into uncharted heights.

Maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma unveiled his horror sequel "Darna Zaroori Hai", veteran moviemaker Mahesh Bhatt presented an unusual love story of a mobster in "Gangster" and internationally-acclaimed storyteller Gurinder Chadha's husband Paul Berges has Aishwarya Rai infuse magical powers into spices in his directorial debut "The Mistress of Spices".

"Darna Zaroori Hai", an anthology of stories directed by different directors, has raked in mixed reviews for each of its directors.

"Gangster", starring newcomer Shiney Ahuja, Emraan Hashmi and debutante Kangana has impressed critics across the board.

In fact, Emraan has emerged as quite a crowd puller given the wolf-whistles his appearance on the screen evoked. Even his previous release - Ananth Mahadevan's "Aksar" - had done reasonable business though the film only had good music.

But now that he has gone on record saying that he will not kiss on screen anymore, it remains to been seen whether his popularity takes a plunge.

The other Friday release - "The Mistress of Spices" has, as all Aishwarya-starrers, come in for harsh criticism, unmindful of the fact that it is the work of a debutant director.

It is a simple tale based on a novel by Chitra Divakaruni, though the on-screen chemistry between Aishwarya and head-turner Dylan McDermott of "The Practice" fame could have had more sizzle.

The myriad films on offer go to show that formulaic narratives are on their way out. That the big daddies of Bollywood have learnt this lesson is evident from upcoming film "36 China Town".

Subhash Ghai-promoted "36 China Town" is produced under the banner of Mukta Arts and slated for release Friday. Directed by Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla, it stars hot real-life couple Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapur. The multi-starrer includes Akshaye Khanna, debutant Upen Patel, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever and Payal Rohatgi.

The film promises to be a fast-paced thriller, a genre not touched by Ghai before. A much-in-news hot pairing and great music by Himesh Reshammiya are the other pluses going for the film.

The success of the film may be crucial for Kareena and Shahid's career graphs as flops in their respective kitties are piling up.

May will also see big-budget films like Kunal Kohli's "Fanaa" (Aamir Khan-Kajol), Rakesh Roshan's "Krrish" (Hrithik Roshan-Priyanka Chopra), Karan Johar's "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" (Amitabh Bachchan-Shah Rukh Khan-Abhishek Bachchan), J.P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan" (Abhishek-Aishwarya) and Farhan Akhtar's "Don" (Shah Rukh-Priyanka Chopra-Kareena).

All of which indicate that 2006 would be a profitable year.