Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in and as Heer Ranjha (1992)

After the unprecedented success of Nagina, producer/director Harmesh Malhotra worked with Sridevi repeatedly. Namely; in Banjaran, Sherni, Nigahein, Heer Ranjha, but failed to recreate the magic and box-office success of their first venture together.

Top of the flop file, the re-re-remake of Heer Ranjha (1992). The oft told tragic love story,  mentioned in the same breath as Romeo and Juliet, was a fail-start from the get-go. The film came at a time when Bollywood and its films were changing, transitioning to a highly stylised entity with modern refurbishment; slick cinematography, modern sets, fast edits, fewer song and dances. This old yarn and costume drama didn't get an audience or a chance.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the talented team, this was, truth-be-told, a poorly made movie. Look for the inconsistency in edits, Anil Kapoor's on and off wigs, the over-the-top acting and melodrama of the supporting cast - there are several confrontations scenes where the characters just scream at each other - there isn't another way to show conflict?! 

Perhaps the sole saving grace would be the performance of Sridevi... and a few decent songs and dances. And of course the leading lady looked like a dream throughout the film and, thanks to tumblr and Instagram, her looks, jewellery, moments, outfits are all getting a second look on social media. We have been quite dismissive of this movie as a whole but are looking at it with freshly scrubbed eyes.

We might be alone in disliking the film as much as we did when we first saw it - as fans on Facebook seem to have loved this version of the two star-crossed lovers - but as we've found, Sridevi films have an audience in far flung corners and beyond borders. 

The entire film is online - and the best songs on YouTube. Give it a gander... 

Anil Kapoor's hair (its risible styling was poked at by the media at the time), the concept and timing of the tragedy... all went so horribly wrong. Sri's lovely in the movie (and famously did part of the costumes in this film - sharing credit with Neeta Lulla) but even she couldn't save this re-telling.

One of the best songs endures: Rab Ne Banaya. Lata Mangeshkar sings for Sridevi yet again.

When you think about it, it's the repeat cast of Lamhe (even Anupam Kher's in this flick!) assembled in this film, but received none of the accolades the predecessor did. Ah well... You can't win 'em all.