9 Gadar: Ek Prem Katha: Nominated for numerous awards and provoking debate among Indians the world over the film is another enduring favourite and a classic of the genre. Rs. 650.000,000  

8 Lage Raho Munna Bhai: Sanjay Dutt’s off-screen celebrity often overshadows his skill and popularity as a lead actor. In this musical comedy the message of the film was strong enough to spark protests around the world. We rewatched the film recently and have fallen in love with the message of truth and humanity all over again. Rs. 652,842,977  

7 Om Shanti Om: All films should be this much fun. Here is our claim – any film that gets this many stars looking this good and having this much fun will make this much money. Every big name of note makes an appearance including one mouth-watering number with 30 of the most familiar faces in a single song and dance number. This sort of film comes along only once in a while. Track down the soundtrack or DVD and enjoy it again. Rs. 699,601,108  

6 Welcome: What a fantastic couple of years Akshay Kumar has had. And the explosive Welcome is one of the highlights. It was massively popular from the very first evening in theatres and has gone a long way to making Akshay one of the biggest stars of twenty-first century Bollywood. Rs. 700,000,000  

5 Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: Split personality comedy romance which showcases the brilliance of SRK. His performances have been compared to Hollywood’s Peter Sellers and although it did not receive significant nominations it is regarded as a fan’s favourite.So much so that it has entered the top 5 of highest grossing Bollywood movies of all time. Rs. 732,283,550  

4 Singh is Kinng: Bollywood has changed since the days of Sholay, Mughal-e-Azam and Mother India. Those movies may have earned more if you account for the adjustment in inflation. Nowadays the global box office, DVD sales and international marketing play an important part in creating a smash hit. That’s why the DVD for Singh is Kinng proudly boasts more than $35million in sales. A true global smash filmed in large part in Australia. Rs. 755,881,177  

3 Krrish: This movie is significant in so many ways to Bollywood. Not only is it the third highest grossing Bollywood film of all time it was one of the first major superhero films to be produced in India for two decades. It is a sequel to the film Koi…Mil Gaya (Number 23 on this list) and cements the reputation of Hrithik Roshan as one of Bollywood’s biggest action heroes. Rs. 814,605,346  

2 Dhoom 2: Hrithik Roshan pops up again in this Bollywood sequel. This time he is part of an all star cast that may well be one of the finest ensembles ever collected for a Bollywood movie. Director Sanjay Gadhvi brings together Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Roshan, Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu for Yash Raj Films all time highest ever earner. As mightily successful as the film is, however, it didn’t quite make the number one spot. That honour goes to… Rs. 835,187,981  

1 Ghajini: There it is. The highest grossing Bollywood film of all time is Ghajini. Of course the numbers would be very different if they were adjusted for inflation but no film has ever brought in more cash than this masterpiece from the four As. Aamir Khan, Asin Thottumkal, AR Murgadoss and AR Rahman combined to make the film, based on Hollywood’s Momento, to the peak of Bollywood success. But, with a new film coming to prominence much more often how long will it stay at the top. Sholay – the true pinnacle of Bollywood’s commercial success – stayed atop the box office for 19 years and if inflation were taken into account would still be top. Rs. 1,171,096,653