and Rajnikanth in the hit film Hum. In 1992 he appeared in Zulm Ki Hukumat, an Indian version of The Godfather, and David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam opposite actress Divya Bharti. His successful collaboration with Dhawan continued with Aankhen, the highest-grossing film of 1993. He and Dhawan would make several successful comedy films which included: Raja Babu (1994), Coolie No. 1 (1995), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Banarasi Babu (1997), Deewana Mastana (1997), Hero No. 1 (1997), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) and Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999). The actor sang in some of his films: "Meri Pant Bhi Sexy" in Dulaara and "Gori Gori" in Shola Aur Shabnam. Dhawan and other directors frequently cast him with actresses such as Karishma Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and Raveena Tandon during this decade. 2000–05: Slump and break from films Govinda's career had a setback during the early 2000s after a series of commercially unsuccessful films. His only major hit film during the early 2000s was Jodi No. 1 (2001). His other films, Hadh Kar Di Aapne, Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta and Ek Aur Ek Gyarah were moderately successful. He received nominations for the Filmfare Awards for Best Performance in a Comic Role for Jodi No. 1, Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta and Akhiyon Se Goli Maare (2002). He turned down roles in Taal, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Devdas, all of which were highly successful. Govinda then joined the Indian National Congress. He won a seat in Parliament from Mumbai North by defeating five-time MP Ram Naik, a former Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, by over 50,000 votes in the 2004 general election. The actor took a break from films during the period of 2003 to 2005. He had no new film releases in 2004 and 2005, although some of his delayed films were released during this time, (such as 2005's Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen and Ssukh— produced by Govinda and directed by his brother, Kirti Kumar and 2006's Sandwich) which were box office failures. 2006–09: Comeback Govinda made a comeback to films in late 2006 with the comedy Bhagam Bhag (directed by Priyadarshan), in which he appeared with Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta. It was Govinda and Kumar's first film together. His first release of 2007 was director Nikhil Advani's big-budget drama, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love. The all-star cast also included Shannon Esra, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor,