Subhash Ghai co-wrote, edited, produced, and directed the 1999 Indian Hindi language musical romantic drama film Taal (translated as Rhythm). In addition to Amrish Puri and Alok Nath, who play supporting roles, the movie stars Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, and Anil Kapoor in the key roles. Thaalam is the Tamil name for it. Taal had its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival, was a “official selection” at the Roger Ebert Film Festival in 2005, and was screened retrospectively at the 45th IFFI in the segment honoring dance in Indian cinema.
The Indian Independence Day weekend saw the release of Taal on August 13, 1999. Taal was a huge commercial success both domestically and internationally, being the first Indian movie to make it into the top 20 on Variety’s box office list. Upon its premiere, the movie garnered a ton of positive reviews, with particular attention paid to the cast performances, costumes, choreography, soundtrack, director, story, and storyline.
Taal earned 12 nominations for the 45th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress (Ghai), and took home 6 prizes, including Best Supporting Actor (Kapoor), Best Music Director (Rahman), and Best Lyricist (Anand Bakshi for “Ishq Bina”).