Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in and as Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja:

Outtakes from a fun shoot for Roop Ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Sridevi with Anil Kapoor. 

 

Sridevi's look in red for the title song of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Sridevi on the sets of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja.

This... well, there were so many title songs in the film! 

The elaborate costumes and accessories were such a fun film fashion moment... 

Neeta Lulla with Sridevi : The Designer Dream

 

When talking about the architectural visionaries who permanently altered the visual language of Indian cinema, celebrity designer Neeta Lulla stands in a league of her own. 

Born on March 5, 1965, the 61-year-old maestro began her career in 1985 and has spent over four decades redefining high fashion and film styling across a staggering repertoire of more than 300 movies. 

Her meteoric rise was fueled in large part by her transformative partnership with screen icon Sridevi. Collaborating on roughly two dozen cinematic projects - most famously in Lamhe (1991) - Lulla crafted the delicate, dreamy chiffons and romantic silhouettes that solidified Sridevi as the ultimate Yash Chopra heroine. 

Their artistic union yielded some of Indian cinema's most iconic looks across celebrated titles including Khuda Gawah (1992), Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993), Kshana Kshanam (1991), and Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990), among several other films in both North and South! 

Whether designing celestial ethereal attire or avant-garde modern ensembles, Lulla’s wardrobe choices for Sridevi didn't just adorn the character - they drove the narrative. Lulla’s extraordinary eye for historical texture, period opulence, and character-driven detail earned her a unmatched record as a four-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Award for Best Costume Design. 

Her first National Award arrived for the intricate vintage dual-era aesthetics in Yash Chopra’s Lamhe (1991). She clinched her second for the grand, opulent silks and heavy brocades worn by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s tragic epic Devdas (2002). Her third came for the regal, meticulously researched Rajput and Mughal court attire in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar (2008). She earned her fourth National Award for the Marathi biographical drama Balgandharva (2011), capturing early 20th-century theatrical costumes with stunning authenticity. 

We are so glad that Neeta Lulla is constantly updating her social media with anecdotes and images and clips about how some of the most memorable looks on film came to be. She's got a great memory, eye for details and she's a raconteur par excellence as a record keeper and cinema wardrobe historian. 

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Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

 

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

Early 90s in Bollywood... 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor publicity stills for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor's publicity shots for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. 

Images that were in all the mags in the early 1990s. 

That's a lot of... red! 

Sridevi in and as Roop ki Rani...

 

For all its flaws, I did see Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja a few times... on VHS... just to see Sridevi's comedy, her song and dance routines and the over-the-top costumes that were made for the film. 

Loud, brashy, Broadway style routines that Sridevi made look easy... Even this feather and sequins confection above was just the right amount of... too much! Sridevi's fab in the comedy scenes in the entire film. 

It could have used some finer editing - way too long and dragged out. As was the production - famously so. The costume caper made a lot of money - but not enough, or over the budget and scale of this epic... fiasco. 

There was a certain amount of hostility the press felt towards the makers (there's a YouTube clip of Boney Kapoor vs the press from 1993 that sounds like courtroom warfare more than a meet the press encounter)... I was a teen when the movie came out so didn't understand why they were after the makers - I mean, they made a movie, why was the press so aggressive in its questioning?! Someone pls enlighten us! 

Anyhoooo, all water under the bridge. There have been bigger budgets, bigger flops, bigger tragedies. The film is a great weekend watch for hardcore Sridevi fans. She's soooo immensely watchable even in terrible movies. I've seen Naaka Bandi, Banjaran, Heer Ranjha, particularly Nigahein, just to see gorgeous, gorgeous Sridevi. 

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!

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

 Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja 

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

 

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

Queen of Comedy: Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja: With Anil Kapoor and Gopi Desai

Sridevi has often been hailed as the undisputed Queen of Comedy. Among her finest films, her comedic sequences stand out as the most memorable moments—ones audiences continue to cherish long after the credits roll. 

Even in her less successful ventures, such as Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, her scenes of broad, uninhibited humour were nothing short of magnificent. For someone so classically beautiful, she was never afraid to “make faces,” contort her expressions, or throw herself into slapstick. Critics sometimes dismissed it as “not acting,” but one wonders—what else could it possibly be? The notoriously shy superstar came alive on the big screen, shedding her armour completely. She had no qualms about looking foolish if it served the comedy. She would fall, tumble, and vibrate with pure joy, determined that the audience, her co-stars, and she herself were all having a genuinely good time. And in those moments, she made people laugh—truly, loudly, and wholeheartedly.

In the 1980s, Sridevi was often referred to as the Lucille Ball of India. Some passionate fans took offence at the comparison. They needn’t have — Lucille Ball was a former model and a great beauty who transitioned into films and achieved global success as a sitcom superstar, eventually earning the title of the First Lady of Comedy. The comparison resurfaced in 2004 when Sridevi, for the first time, ventured into television comedy. Unfortunately, she was part of a flop sitcom Malini Iyer. The show started with massive ratings but suffered from sloppy writing, editing, and direction, which caused it to taper off quickly. Sridevi herself was a massive fan of I Love Lucy and was pleased as punch to be compared to the American icon! 

Sridevi was unique, as the unquestionable Number One actress of her time, the phrase fearless comes to mind. She was unafraid to be funny, silly, sexy, to look destitute, avenging, fearful and fearless in equal measure - whatever the part, she played it to perfection. 

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

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja: Anil Kapoor with Sridevi

Publicity stills from Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja with Sridevi and Anil Kapoor.

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was released on April 16, 1993.

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 

 

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. 

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in white

Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in white. Pre publicity shots for Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor stills from Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

 Sridevi and Anil Kapoor stills from Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja 

Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja: Sunday magazine cover: The Ten Crore Gamble

The Roop ki Rani... pre release publicity was next level. The two stars covered every media outlet in the early 90s be it the usual film magz like G magazine, Filmfare, Stardust etc and Hindi tabloids of Mayapuri magazine and even serious political magazines like Sunday! Obv we have the entire series of shots and features in the archive here.  

Bollywood's Queen of Comedy: Sridevi

Simply fearless; gorgeous Sridevi was never shy on the big screen. A scream! 

 

Rare stills: Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Rare stills: Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. Looooong in the gestation period, there are not hundreds but thousands of pics of Sridevi from the sets of this ill-fated and oh-my-god expensive fiasco.