All-star premiere of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja: Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Rekha, Raaj Kumar, Boney Kapoor

Without a doubt, this was probably the biggest Indian film premiere of the 1990s... if not all-time! At the time, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was the most expensive Hindi film ever made and was in production for a whopping five years. 

The A-list of Bollywood turned up for the highly anticipated first screening of the Hindi film on April 16, 1993. 

Every star worth their mettle turned up, looking their glamorous best. Be it other film directors, legendary actors, actresses, singers (even the nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar attended though she didn't sing a single song in the film!), the who's who and creme de la creme of Mumbai society and Bollywood turned up. 

Without question, the most memorable moment of the night, where the flashbulbs of the attending paparazzi went simply berserk, was when Amitabh Bachchan brought together Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit in the same frame. The only man in the country they couldn't politely decline, the two superstars said genteel Namastays and then barely looked at the other throughout the gala - pics here as proof. But, what a night!

Pity the movie received a critical drumming and lukewarm response at the box-office, where the media went on to state, "Flop film, Super-hit Premiere!"

The film did have some amazing moments - especially by Sridevi. Her comic scenes, her song and dance sequences were superb. For those who remember, there's a lengthy train robbery scene that measures up to the best of the west... but overall, the film is exhausting. A few memorable skits do not make a memorable movie.

If the director is the caption of the ship, then this one sank like the Titanic thanks to the shoddy direction of... Satish Kaushik. A fine character actor and comedian no doubt, TBH Kaushik has never made a good film. Ever. Just about every film of his has been deeply flawed, despite his often A-list cast. His long roster of films are mediocre - perhaps the sole exception being Tere Naam. A flop of this magnitude usually means its curtains for the director - but let's hear it for the amount of goodwill Kaushik has that he went on to make several other films despite the underwhelming performance of the exorbitantly costly Roop Ki Rani Choron ka Raja. In fact, he has a long litany of duds. Even when the movies broke even, they weren't good films per se... Oh well.

Back to this memorable night; another wow moment was of course, Sridevi meeting former Queen Bee Rekha and succeeding one Madhuri the same night. A frame of all three together would have been... miraculous! But for now, here's what we have from that evening.

Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor - click to enlarge

Below: Rare pic of Sridevi with Satish, who she referred to as her brother. Unsure if its her cousin or step-brother...

Rare pics of Rekha who gave Sridevi a trophy of the film on stage.

Sridevi with her brother (cousin?) Satish