Sridevi: Roop ki Rani set in full Japanese avatar: Kimono and makeup to perfection

 

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi strike a pose: Pre-publicity shots for Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi strike a pose: Pre-publicity shots for Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja! So... red!

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi on the cover of a Hindi tabloid

 

Throwback to the summer of 1993, during the aggressive pre-release promotions of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja, Sridevi and Anil Kapoor carpet bombed every film magazine cover real estate and gave endless - and mostly the same- interviews. The promotion rigamarole can be exhausting. As Sridevi famously said during Mom film promotions (or was it EV?!) "Picture se dar nahin lagta, promotions se dar lagta hai!"  

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

 Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja 

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Not a commonly seen or published photo of Sridevi on the sets of the big-budget-bonanza that was Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja...

 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor during Roop ki Rani... promotions

 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor during Roop ki Rani... promotions

Sridevi in Filmcity: On the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja in the early 90s in Bollywood

 

Celebrity designer Neeta Lulla on working with Sridevi

Celebrity designer Neeta Lulla on working with Sridevi when she started her career; 

"....By 1992 I had already worked with Sridevi on many projects. She asked me to come in and work on this film [Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja] as well, that was the time when she used to work in 2-3 films simultaneously so we were shooting on film first half of the day to a photoshoot and then another shoot the second half. 

The reason I selected this image is because I can never forget this rust colour. Sridevi had a great sense of colour and I owe my sensibility of colours to complimenting visuals from her. She described this colour as the colour we get when the marigold flower is semi dried and a fabric that had a very slight sheen and had a good fall, so I used a soft spun silk which was available then. 

The reason to use this image is also because I cannot forget the day of this shoot at RK Studio when we shot for this scene and then did a quick shoot with Gautam Rajadhyaksha for the cover of G Magazine in 30 minutes where I dressed her torso upwards in this look and then we resumed the film shoot later. Her dedication prioritisation and timing to complete her commitments is what has inspired me to this day."

-- Neeta Lulla

From Facebook

Sridevi

 Guns ablaze...  

 Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. 

 Just after the yet-another-rain-song-and-dance routine. But it was one of the more pleasant numbers in the movie, Jaanewale zara ruk ja. 

Sridevi as Princess in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja: Not all cultural appropriation is created equal.

Sridevi... really looks like a porcelain doll here. An incredible comic performance, lost in the haze of the film's disastrous box-office. There are several parts in the film that stand out for its comedic verve, action (the train scene), musical numbers... 

And this bit of cultural appropriation. And I'm going to straight up pilfer from my favourite YouTuber and deep diver, writer, Lindsay Ellis, who wrote, and I quote, "And yeah, this, this is a form of cultural appropriation... The fact that cultural appropriation is in theory a neutral term leads to a lot of false equivalencies, i.e. why is this form of cultural appropriation okay, but Gwen Stefani dressing as a sexy warrior is not okay. Well, it's a complex issue and there is a lot of intersection over race and class and gender, but here is a general rule of thumb: if it is a culture that was historically exploited by colonialism appropriating a historically colonizing culture, no harm, no foul. No one gets mad at Mexico for appropriating elements of German culture.... If it is a historically colonialist culture appropriating a culture that was exploited by colonialism, then people start to get a little cranky. Obviously there are intersections and complexities, but for simplicity's sake I'll leave it there for now. But I think most people would agree that unlike something like Pocahontas or even Slumdog Millionaire, a movie which pretty much every Indian I've ever talked to is not a fan of, this kind of cultural appropriation is basically harmless. This is what I mean by cultural appropriation being a neutral term. Not all cultural appropriation is created equal."

The character (one of several in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja), Sridevi plays in the scene to steal the priceless artefact, while competing with fellow thief essayed by Anil Kapoor, is not in any way or measure making fun of or deriding anyone, any country, culture or its people. As royalty, in the most exquisite, painstakingly created makeup look created by the magician that is Mickey Contractor, Sridevi got the style, exquisite and expensive wardrobe (Neeta Lulla styled), mannerisms, tone and that cheeky giggle right, done to perfection for the sake of a genuinely funny scene. Comparing it to Mickey Rooney's Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's is a stretch, inaccurate and wildly out of place as intention is key here. No one had an agenda to punch down to the people of "Cheenchpokli," an entirely fictional state and, in the fictional Bollywooden realm of musical fantasy. No harm, no foul. 

All comedy is subjective and we've got to look back at the early 90s for what it was, pre-woke, pre self reflection and pre snowflake trigger response of getting offended at the drop of a hat. When the film was orignally released, no one was crying foul over the depiction of anyone in the movie - mostly because the film tanked and barely ran at the box-office. People couldn't be offended by things they didn't see! However, having found new lease in life on OTT platform, upon rewatch, some snowflakes have found just about everything in the film offensive. A trigger response with little thought or genuine empathy to a makeshift cause. We can't all weaponise our feelings and vomit it out on Twitter when the engagement online is low.... 

Take several seats. To quote Wendy Williams. 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor: Pre publicity shoot for Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor: Pre-publicity pic for Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja - most of the shots were published in a centrefold for G magazine. All shot by the fab Rakesh Shreshta. More here.
 

Released on 16 April 1993, it was known as the most expensive flop film of its time. Bollywood being Bollywood, now its not even on the top ten film fiascos as so many ignoble flops have taken over that notorious list. 

Rarely seen stills of Sridevi and Anil Kapoor on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Rarely seen stills of Sridevi and Anil Kapoor on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

It's not "unseen", nor "never published" as that's categorically false. Social media captions are a sub-editor's terror; typos, misinformation and wild inaccuracies. 

Released on 16 April 1993, it was THE most anticipated film of the 90s... but, well, you all know what happened... 

Sridevi

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. And yes, this pic has been AI modified and edited by... someone. The original image is in the archive here, with the rest of the shots.

Sridevi: Comedy is Serious Business

Mr.India, Chaalbaaz, the first half of Chandni, parts of Lamhe, Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Naaka Bandi, Gair Kanooni... Sridevi brought a comic flair to several of her memorable movies. 

She was naturally funny, masked by her shyness and she loved comedy - whenever she met comic actors, she let them know how much she appreciated them. 

Icons recognise icons... 

 

The state of red: RKRCKR publicity stills with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi

The state of red: Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja publicity stills with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi 

 

Queen of comedy: Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Queen of comedy: Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja 

Sridevi: The Song that was cut from the overripe Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

 

Main ek sone ki murat hoon was an ok song, but Sridevi looked so cute performing it - alas, the song was cut from the released version of the film, Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. 

Shot in Amsterdam, Sridevi prances around a garden trying to comically seduce a reluctant Anil Kapoor. She's after the jewellery he stole - and he's aware of her less than honourable intentions! There are several amazing scenes and songs in the film - it just didn't have a cohesive thread. 

Best Acting Performance in a Dance? Sridevi in Dushman dil Ka jo from Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Best Acting Performance in a Dance? Sridevi in Dushman dil Ka jo from Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Sridevi acted so well in this song and dance routine - see her rage and grief and then doing those poerfect steps... 

Striking Sridevi. Completely fierce. The costume here... is a bit of a hodge podge mess but when you watch it, all you see is Sridevi's expressive face... 

There might have been better dancers who could act, but there's no actress who danced like this. 

Such sparks of genius in an otherwise tepid film...

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor at the audio launch of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja: Rare video clip

Ignore the "fan" made overlay song as it wasn't Sridevi's birthday but just a cake-cutting to celebrate the audio launch of the then highly anticipated Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja, in the early 1990s. Dressed in white, Sridevi looked so pretty. Co-star Anil Kapoor, director Satish Kaushik, producer Boney Kapoor etc seen in the clip. 

Sridevi in her most elaborate costume: Iconic comedic performance

Sridevi in her most elaborate costume: Iconic comedic performance 

The effort and transformation is beyond; exquisite Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. 

More images from this Japanese costumed look in the archives here.