After a clearly accomplished career as an actress, Bollywood's beloved Basanti dabbled with television, both as an actress and filmmaker with the acclaimed dance-themed serial, Noopur.

Moving on to the big screen, she directed Shah Rukh Khan along with Jeetendra, Mithun Chakravarthy, Amrita Singh, Dimple Kapadia and Divya Bharti in the kerchief caper, Dil Aashna Hai.

Even as this melodramatic rehash of Shirley Conran's Lace didn't quite live up to the expectations, the Baghban star followed it up by the decidedly ambiguous made-for-television movie, Mohini starring niece Madhoo and Sudesh Berry.

Irrespective of the fate her creations met, one cannot deny Hema Malini's unconventional choice of subject matter.