Unlike his Guru, Raj was quite obsessed with pre-credit sequences. C.I.D has one-and-a-half minute of intrigue before the title sequence begins rolling. Bombai ka Babu has shots of our (anti?) hero ambling out of jail, being picked up by his pal and followed by the police, interspersed with exterior shots of Bombay roads (quite unusual for Hindi films of the period). This continues for a good minute and 16 seconds before the title appears.

Even for a romance like Solva Saal, the pre-credit sequence takes two-and-a-half minutes to set up the family that Laaj (Waheeda) is going to abandon. From this, Raj goes up to almost nine minutes – including an entire song – in Anita, and surpasses that in Nehle peh Dehlaa, which, in the tradition of 1970s revenge dramas, sets up the killing of a patriarch and separation of brothers before the title shows up.

Yet, it is quite possible that the pre-credit sequence of Woh Kaun Thi? might just be the most iconic opening scene not only in Raj Khosla’s oeuvre, but in all of Hindi cinema.

A car is braving its way through heavy rains on a country road. We find ourselves inside the car, the screeching of wipers loud and clear. Potholes and ditches are visible through the bumpy ride....