Bollywood, as the Hindi film industry is popularly known as, is one of the biggest film producers in the world. It produces an astounding 150-200 films every year! This means a new release every second day, on an average. Of this huge number, only a fortunate few taste the heights of success and acclaim. In my last hub on the greatest Bollywood movies ever, I had listed the first eight movies of the top 25 list. This is the second installment, containing another 8 great movies! There is no particular order of preference in this list, it has been arranged according to the year of release.

Please sit back and enjoy this list of eight (of the top 25) wonderful movies!

Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman
Produced By: Navketan
Directed By: Vijay Anand
Music By: S.D.Burman

Another one of my all-time personal favorites, this movie is based on a novel by the respected writer, R K Narayan (Best remembered for his memorable fictional town, Malgudi). It is a moving story of the power of faith. In one of the scenes towards the end of the movie, Dev Anand, who is posing as a saint in a village, is asked a question by a journalist. He is fasting to bring rains during a famine, and the journalist (from NBC, as shown in the movie!) asks him whether he really believes it is possible. Dev Anand (Raju, the Guide in the movie) replies: "The people have faith in me, and I have faith in their faith". This is one of the best performances by Dev Anand. The film also scores for its unforgettable music.

Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Veena, Sapru, Kamal Kapoor, Nadira
Produced By: Kamal Amrohi
Directed By: Kamal Amrohi
Music By: Ghulam Mohd, Naushad

Starring the debonair Ashok Kumar, stylish Raajkumar and the beautiful Meena Kumari, this is one of the most enduring tales of romance in the Indian Cinema. This magnum opus by Kamaal Amrohi took 14 long years to complete! It is on of the best films based on the themes of Kothas, Tawaifs and Mujras. During the shooting of the film, Meena Kumari became very sick, and could just complete the film before her death.

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple, Premnath, Pran, Durga Khote, Arun Irani
Produced By: Raj Kapoor
Directed By: Raj Kapoor
Music By: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Bobby introduced a new genre to Bollywood: the Teenage Romance. The bold theme of teenage love, rebellion and elopement was repeated in a number of films after the release of this movie. Raj Kapoor is said to be inspired by the Archie series of comics in making this film. This film became so popular that a lot of parents named their children Bobby after this film was released (this name was suitable both for boys and girls). The music for the film was also a big hit, especially the songs "Hum Tum Ek Kamre me Band Ho" and "Jhooth Bole Kauwwa Kaate".

Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Farooq Shiekh, A.K.Hangal, Jalal Agha
Produced By: Absivani Isan Arya
Directed By: M.S.Sathyu
Music By: Aziz A.Khan/Bahadur Khan

The other memorable film of the year 1973 was an absolute antithesis of Bobby. It is one of the best (perhaps THE best) films ever made on the subject of partition of India. It shows the tales and travails of a Muslim family in the years after partition. The head of the family (played poignantly by Balraj Sahni) is torn between the option of staying in India or migrating to Pakistan. He watches helplessly even as his closest friends and family members go to Pakistan, as he chooses to stay back. It was directed by the M S Sathyu, and is based on a short story by the noted Urdu writer, Ismat Chugtai. The screenplay was written by another noted Urdu poet and writer Kaifi Azmi (father of Shabana Azmi). A powerful, hard hitting movie with some great performances by the actors.

Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Neetu Singh, Ajit, Imtiyaz, Jalal Agha
Produced By: Nasir Hussain
Directed By: Nasir Hussain
Music By: R. D. Burman

A typical Bollywood masala film, it is based on the theme of siblings separated at birth, and uniting much later in the future. Though the script of the film is very thin in substance, it makes up for that by way of performances and music. The music for the film was given by the legendary R D Burman. The song "Chura Liya Hai" is one of the most famous, romantic and timeless songs of the Indian Film Industry.

Amitabh, Dharmendra, Jaya Bhaduri, Usha Kiran, Sharmila Tagore, Om Prakash, Asrani
Produced By: N.C.Sippy
Directed By: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Music By: S.D.Burman

One of the cutest, cleanest and the best comedies ever to come out of the Bollywood stable. But then look at the cast and the crew of the film! Directed by the legendary storyteller Hrishikesh Mukherjee, music by S D Burman and boasting of such stars as Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri(nee Bachchan) and Om Prakash, the film had "success" written all over it! And what a success it was! It is a hilarious tale of mix-ups and confusion, with great performances by all the actors. Not to mention the great music, with one of the songs, "Abke Sajan Saawan Mein" dripping mischief from every syllable!

Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K. Hangal
Produced By: G. P. Sippy
Directed By: Ramesh Sippy
Music By: R. D. Burman

This was the second movie which cast Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra together, and it is one of the biggest ever hits of the Hindi Film Industry. The film boasts of heavy fire-power in the form of the biggest guns of the Bollywood. The film is heavily influenced by the Westerns, and is loosely based on the theme of Seven Samurai (by Akiro Kurosawa). In fact, if you are ever given a choice to watch just ONE movie to understand Bollywood, I would recommend Sholay. Just go for it! This film was such a blockbuster; it played for a record 286 weeks in one movie theatre in Mumbai! Every moviegoer remembers a number of dialogues from this movie, especially the ones spoken by the villain, Gabbar Singh. ("Kitne aadmi they?" or "Ab Tera Kya hoga, Kaaliya"! God!) Just go, watch the movie!

Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda,Neetu. Rishi Kapoor, Parikshit Sahni, Naseem, Simi
Produced By: Yash Chopra
Directed By: Yash Chopra
Music By: Khayyam

You cannot describe Bollywood without mentioning the master of the love triangles, Yash Chopra! The film Kabhie-Kabhie is probably one of the best love triangles ever to come out of the stable of Yash Chopra. The film is an interesting tale spanning over two generations. The great music composed by Khayyam is one of the highlights of the film. The title song "Kabhie-Kabhie" is one of my all time favorites.

This is the second in the series of three hubs on top 25 all time great Hindi movies. For the next and final installment of wonderful hindi movies, please visit the next hub in the series:

Top 25 Bollywood Movies of All Times (Part 3 of 3).