Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol in Darr (1993)

Cast: Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan

Director: Yash Chopra

Music: Shiv, Hari

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

Capsule Review: Making a departure from the ultra-romanticism of Daag, Kabhi Kabhie and Chandni, Yash Chopra swerved fluently into the sinister with this film. As the psychologically disturbed lover-boy who can’t take no for an answer from Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan made a fashion statement out of stammering manic love-confessions. Though the film was packaged as a typical Yash Chopra romance (with dulcet melodies composed by the classical musicians Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia and sung by Lata Mangeshkar projected into an alfresco Alpine environment) Darr was also a scare-fest, with Shah Rukh jumping at Juhi from the most unlikely places. While the hero, Deol was impressive enough in his macho manoeuvres, his adversary who would be traditionally termed the villain, was turned into an attractive figure. Evil became attractive and danger was fun. Especially remarkable are the film’s editing patterns, which create suspense in unexpected sequences. The long Holi sequence where Shah Rukh infiltrates the festivities at Deol-Chawla’s home and the chase on the crowded roads thereafter, are deviously executed.

Dimple Kapadia in Lekin (1991)

Cast: Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Amjad Khan

Director: Gulzar

Music: Hridayanath Mangeshkar

Lyrics: Gulzar

Capsule Review: Produced by ‘Asia’s Nightingale’ Lata Mangeshkar, Lekin is a ghost story with a difference. Lekin transports us into the twilight ‘now‑you-see-her-now-you-don’t’ zone. Frozen between two lives the female protagonist’s character is guided by the hero Vinod Khanna from one world to another—a symbolic journey represented by a splendid stretch of sand which cinematographer Manmohan Singh captures with undulating elasticity. Gulzar’s vision lends a lyrical luminosity to the epic tale. The film is made memorable by Dimple Kapadia’s unblinking portrayal of the ghost, rendered immeasurably ethereal by the underrated composer Hridayanath Mangeshkar’s haunting melodies sung with ravishing resonance by the composer’s sister Lata Mangeshkar.

Rajesh Khanna and Nana in Ittefaq (1969)

Cast: Nanda, Rajesh Khanna

Director: Yash Chopra

Music: (background score) Salil Chowdhury

Capsule Review: The ever-experimental B.R.Chopra produced this songless thriller, his second film after the courtroom drama Kanoon. The raw and riveting Rajesh Khanna played a man accused of murdering his wife who takes asylum in a single woman’s (Nanda) home and finds himself a part of a much bigger more damning conspiracy than he could have ever imagined. The taut whodunit moves at a frenetic speed. Director Yash Chopra never allows the narrative to stray. Most of the stagey film is shot on one set depicting Nanda’s home. The dramatic tension is created mainly through the editing pattern and the principal performances. Rajesh Khanna is outstanding in his outbursts of defensive anger and uncontrollable rage. But the real shocker is Nanda. Turning away from her goody-goody image she delivers a sledgehammer performance as a scheming, screaming evil woman of devious devices. There is not a hint of romance in the plot. Ittefaq is a genre-defining work.