The film Nagina was remade in a more substantial form in 1986 with an ectothermic Sridevi looking at her best as the snake queen and also starring Rishi Kapoor. Sridevi plays Rajni who entices rich, young Rishi to be her husband. However, later a travelling shaman informs Rishi’s mother that Rajni is really a Nagin who is trying to ensnare Rishi in order to avenge an earlier slight on her family. Perhaps Rishi should have read some Leonardo Da Vinci who once said, “Marriage is like putting your hand in a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.” But, in fact, the shaman, is also playing his own game as he wants to ensnare Rajni himself, so she’s not entirely to blame – the serpentine plot thickens nicely with an exciting denouement which will want to make you watch it again and again. There was a follow-up in 1989 called Nageha: Nagina 2 and whilst Sridevi continued to be on form, the male lead, Sunny Deol, was too wriggly to provide an adequate antagonist and the film was less successful.
