This volume traces the growth of the indigenous Hindi film hero from the silent era up to Dilip Kumar. The film hero is depicted as a credible representative of the social, cultural and political milieu of his era. The author contends that the development of Hindi cinema has been largely centred round the frontal figure of the hero. In the course of the narrative, the subject matter presents a compact history of mainstream Hindi cinema by placing personalities, events and trends in specific time frames.