Then came a series of superhit films for the actor, starting with Raja Hindustani (1996) for which he bagged the Filmfare Best Actor award (and didn't show up to collect), followed by Ishq in 1997 co-starring Juhi Chawla, Kajol and Ajay Devgn, and Ghulam opposite Rani Mukerji (1998).
Sarfarosh (1999), co-starring Sonali Bendre and Naseeruddin Shah, brought him more critical praise.