Another ‘action hero’ announced his arrival in the early ‘90s with a mega hit, Kuku Kohli’s Phool Aur Kaante (1991). He was ace action-director Veeru Devgan’s son, Ajay Devgan. With his natural flair for stunts, Ajay emerged as the most bankable ‘action hero’ (Jigar-1991, Divya Shakti-1993, Diljale-1994, Vijaypath-1994, Haqeeqat-1995, Naajayaz-1995) until Akshay Kumar caught up with him. Ajay, who won Filmfare’s Most Outstanding Newcomer award for 1992, grew in stature as a versatile actor towards the end of the decade with films like Ishq (1997), Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), Zakhm (1998) and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). His outstanding performance in Mahesh Bhatt’s autobiographical flick Zakhm won him a National Award for the Best actor.

Nana Patekar, who had made his presence felt with his brilliant portrayal of the villain, Anna, in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s critically acclaimed film, Parinda (1989), and won Filmfare’s Best Villain award in 1989, became a force to reckon with at the box-office in the ‘90s with hits like Agni Sakshi (1996) and Krantiveer (1994). He looked for roles that were well-etched even if they had strong negative shades.