BOBBY: Enigma for everyone who saw it irrespective of age, religion, gender. The film got everything right - incredible from the leads who can forget Pran, Premnath, Sonia Sahni and Durga Khote. It remains the taproot of enacting scenes from the film.

NAAM: Mahesh Bhatt's searing saga with powerhouse performances from Nutan, Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav and Paresh Rawal. A brilliant script by the legendary Salim Khan tuned to perfection by Mr. Bhatt. It underlines strongly that if the script and director are on song, a film can change the sagging fortunes of many a star.

Sanjay Dutt recently shared with me how Mr Bhatt sprang a surprise on him by giving him the famous telephone booth scene in which he calls his brother for help minutes before filming it, as it was a last-minute addition. Goes to show the magic of movies.

AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY: If I remember correctly, the film ran for 75 weeks! The magic of the "Man" -- plot, casting, canvas, and finale. Here is confidence at its best. a director and six superstars at the peak and the genius of Anand Bakshi and Laxmikant Pyarelal.

DON: What a mystery. A director like Chandra Barot who makes one of the biggest block busters of title sequence itself (not to mention the title!) the film boasts of style and attitude.

DEEWAR: A modern cinema classic. Once again tracing its roots to the masterpiece Gunga Jumna, mainstream Deewar boasts of an intensity and dramatic depth that set benchmarks in mainstream commercial cinema.

That was the brilliance of writers like Salim-Javed, directors like Yash Chopra and actors like Amitabh Bachchan. They could tell as dark and artistic a tale they liked and yet deliver a box office bonanza.