22 Years of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was one of the most anticipated films in the 1980s because it had the team of Mr. India again. The film was launched at the Silver Jubilee success party of Mr. India in 1988. This was the second film with the same title. The first was starring Dev Anand & Waheeda Rehman. ​

​Initially Shekhar Kapur agreed to direct the film but he then decided to leave the project. Satish Kaushik who was the assistant director of Mr. India stepped in and made his debut as a director with this film. The film started shooting in 1988. Some scenes and songs were shot. The movie was delayed so many times due to so many reasons. be it stars dates, reshooting some outdated scenes. lavish sets building etc. Even the opening credits of the film was very costly! It was at that time when Yash Chopra requested Boney Kapoor some of Sridevi's dates to be given in favor of his own film Chandni. Boney did not mind but again that added to the delay of the film.
Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was at that time the costliest film ever made. Its budget has surpassed the Rs. 10 Crore & in our times that means over Rs. 100 Crore! Lots of efforts were put in lavish film sets and costumes, but unfortunately less in story building. The first half was fun to watch specially with Sridevi & Anil Kapoor competing each other in burglary, but in the second half the film started to feel rushed and lacking a solid story & dialogue.

​The song Dushman Dil Ka Jo Hai Mere was shot in 1988 and it had a lavish setting. Sridevi was mind-blowing be it  her dance, her look and her expressions, they were all something you expect from The Sridevi. Neeta Lulla has done all her costumes for the film and most of them were exquisite and grand. The premiere of the film itself was extraordinary and grand. It had many big names attending be it Amitabh Bachchan, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Rekha and many other stars. Trophies were given to the cast and crew of the film. Sridevi's trophy was given by none other than Rekha.

The film was released after a long delay in 1993 & opened to full houses but unfortunately could not sustain. The cost was too huge to recover. Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja's failure was due to its cost. If the film hadn't costed that much it would have definitely fared much better commercially. A film is usually considered a hit when its revenues are higher than its cost by a good margin. Some films that year were hit even though they made less money than Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja but they had the advantage of a much lower cost.
To the people who have the film on VHS they will notice that many of the outdated scenes and even some portions of the songs were chopped when the film came in DVD. All the DVDs released for the film from different companies lack some of  the original footage. So if you have the VHS then keep it until a DVD that has the full content of the film is released which we doubt will happen.

Sridevi was the highlight of the film. Actually Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja has nothing else other than Sridevi be it her wonderful acting or superior dancing. She did the Madrasi comedy scene to perfection. The Japanese woman and so many other unforgettable avatars. The film has so many lovely moments that cannot be forgotten. At least this film to Sridevi fans will remain one of her carrier's many memorable films. Each one of us have his own reasons to like the film.

It is nice to see The Last Empress herself remembers the film today & tweets about it.

22 years of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja! Sharing a picture from the 1st day of shooting. @BoneyKapoor pic.twitter.com/jckL6non7z

— SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR (@SrideviBKapoor) April 17, 2015

Below is the video of launching the film during the Silver Jubilee party of Mr. India in 1988.

​& Lastly what the cast and crew of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja say about the film