A decade or so ago, actors like Govinda wooed their lady loves with songs such as Main toh raste se jaa raha tha, main toh bhelpuri kha raha tha (I was walking down the road, I was eating bhelpuri). Inane lyrics were the order of the day in slapstick comedies, the raunchier the better.

Not any more.

More filmmakers today are tackling themes as diverse as dysfunctional urban lives and physical disability, thanks to a maturing audience that is forcing them to think out of the box.

Critically acclaimed films like Taare Zameen Par and Chak De India, which did not feature typical song-and-dance sequences, made a mark at the box-office in 2007, and effectively used song lyrics to convey emotions.

"Sensitive and realistic films pull audiences now and old formulas are not working," says lyricist Sameer.

"This has made producers put money into quality scripts. Automatically, lyrics have become better."

In Taare Zameen Par, a boy suffering from dyslexia is packed off to a boarding school to be disciplined - seen by him as the final act of rejection by his family.

As his family drives off and the boy stares into the distance, the song Main kabhi batlata nahin par andhere se darta hoon main Maa (I have never told you mother, but scared I am of the dark) plays in the background.

The song captured the essence of the moment and left many in the audience in tears.

"Audiences are more matured and educated than those who went to theatres in the 80s and 90s and they are not willing to see or hear mediocre things," lyricist Javed Akhtar said. "So, every department is seeing a rise in quality."

Despite the marked improvement in lyrics, many feel that songs written in the 1950s and 60s, often referred to as the golden era of Bollywood, had set too high a benchmark.

Songwriters of the time wrote meaningful lyrics in descriptive, poetic language and elegant style - traits that all but disappeared in the following decades.

"(It) was the era of melody, of the best lyrics writers Bollywood has ever produced," says Akhtar. "It looks improbable that we can achieve that standard."

Bollywood historian Derek Bose thinks it is difficult for lyricists to produce quality work unless they are given more creative freedom by filmmakers.

"A lyric writer has to function to the dictates of the producer, director and music composer," says Bose.

"In the past, music usually was composed around lyrics. Today, it is the other way round. The music is composed first and the lyrics fitted in."