Umrao Jaan

J. P. Dutta directs Umrao Jaan, the second film adaptation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's 1905 novel "Umrao Jaan Ada", which tells the story of the famous Lucknow courtesan. Although Dutta claimed to have based the film on the novel, it is clearly more a remake of the 1981 film version, directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha. The 1981 film was lavish, powerful and beautiful and is a famous musical classic. Rekha's heartfelt performance as Umrao Jaan remains till date one of the finest performances of not only her career but of Indian cinema in general. So obviously one would go on to compare the two versions, and needless to say, the 1981 film is and will always be associated with this title. This new version is not very bad. It is pleasing to the eye, it has some nice songs, great costumes, and Aishwarya Rai looks impossibly beautiful. However, the film is lacking in substance, in emotion and it lacks the power to excite.

In comparison to Rekha, Aishwarya Rai is frankly more of an amateur (and I'm not one of those who hate her). Rekha's line delivery, her non-verbal emotions, her pain, her expressive eyes being occasionally filled with tears, and above all her dance numbers which are some of the most memorable in the history of Indian films, were so soulful. Aishwarya, though stunning in looks and evidently trying to do her best, simply does not have the ability to recreate this magic. She does have her moments, but that's as far as it goes and it is hardly a good performance. Her dance numbers, however, are exceptional. Anu Malik's soundtrack is good and the great Alka Yagnik sings the songs beautifully. One shouldn't compare them to Khayyam's unforgettable songs performed to perfection by Asha Bhosle in the original version; the songs are wildly different.

Another much talked about role in the film is that of Khanum Jaan, played by Shabana Azmi. Azmi plays a role her own mother, Shaukat Azmi, played in the original version. She seems to have a lot of fun with the minimal job her character lets her do and surprisingly does not really take her role seriously, as she rightly admitted in an interview. That's okay, even accomplished actors like Azmi are allowed to have fun, and that's what actually makes her portrayal the more so entertaining. As for Abhishek Bachchan, the less said about him, the better. Even on its own, Umrao Jaan does not hold water. It is melodramatic, uninspiring and poorly directed. Aishwarya's presence and the film's visuals cannot save it from being just another unsuccessful and forgettable attempt to remake a classic.

Poor Aishwariya Rai. To have had to suffer the indignity of being "the most beautiful woman in the world." It may sound like I'm being excessively sarcastic, but you're only half right. Rai, like many other actors before her, has had to contend with preconceived notions of her artistic abilities. What makes her unique is that she has also had to contend with the very thing which has brought her so much international attention: her looks.

Unlike India's other major screen mavens renowned for their beauty (Madhubala, Rekha, and Manisha Koirala among them) Rai's ethereal charms have consistently been lodged against her as proof that she is nothing but a plastic mannequin with the emotional range of a Barbie Doll. And until recently, her detractors have largely been right.

Bhansalli's "Hum Dil Dechuke Sanam," for all its puerility, showed that Rai deserved the title of "performer," if not "actress." His follow-up, the heinous melodramatic bloat called "Devdas," gave a glimpse into what was possible for Rai under the right set-up: she was, and remains, the only thing worth watching in a film that should have been called, "Paro." And now "Umrao Jaan" finally brings the inner being out which pronounces the arrival of Aishwariya Rai "the actress." While one may question J.P. Dutta's motives for filming a story already memorialized as a classic, one does not question his casting of the lead. As Ameeran/Umrao Jaan, Aishwariya at last achieves that elusive but indispensable acting necessity: emotional nudity. Regardless of whether one agrees with the film or the character, she cannot be faulted for turning in a hollow, soulless, or canned performance. Here she is fully in character, physically, aesthetically, emotionally—even psychologically. And while the film is melodramatic, Rai is decidedly not. She delivers the superficial necessities of the eponymous courtesan—breathtaking beauty and grace, and dances which are embodiments of both—but her performance is never subdued by the surface features of Umrao Jaan. Witness the scene in which she is repudiated by her aristocratic lover in his drunken stupor: the dual conjuring of disbelief and anger as she spits out the refrain, "Vah Re, Kismat" ("Oh, Fate.") is perfect in its subtlety. Barely moving her lips to deliver the curse of her fate, Rai demonstrates that she is capable of much more than is customarily delegated her way.

The film features a few lightweight actors, like Sunil Shetty, who is woefully wooden and miscast. One cannot help but pine for a menacing Shah Rukh Khan or a grunting Abhishek Bachchan in the part of Faiz Ali. Bachchan is, of course, present as Nawab Sultan, Umrao Jaan's only true love. Sadly, he delivers an uninspired portrayal of an aristocrat tormented by his desire for a courtesan. Dutta's casting is way off here as well. Sultan is frankly the kind of part screaming to be played by Ajay Devegan or Akshaye Khanna.

Much has been made of the fact that Shabana Azmi is playing the part of brothel keeper which her mother played in the 1981 film. Unfortunately, Dutta conceptualizes the part from a much more clichéd stock "mother" stereotype which lacks the bite and deformed morality which made the original so interesting. Perhaps a Rekha or Sridevi would have made the part more deliciously dramatic, making this a film about the forging and destroying of female bonds in a misogynistic world, rather than a romanticized portrayal of prostitution which ignores the fundamental questions of a woman-identified sanctuary for women in 19th century India. We'll have to wait until the story is absorbed by experimental feminist cinema—oddly enough, Muzaffar Ali's film deals with these issues rather lucidly. One thing I'd love to see is an adaptation by a female director- Mira Nair or Deepa Mehta could work unique wonders with such a story.

But back to Dutta. The main drawback of his film is its script. It is constructed as a chaptered retelling of the life of Umrao Jaan who recounts her memorable journey to the man who would later memorialize her in print. The film revolves around a ho-hum love story thrown on top of an absolutely awful introduction in which the kidnapped Ameeran inexplicably accepts her place in the brothel because it offers her material opulence. How many sheltered 10-year-old girls will accept the position of prostitute-in-training? Not many, I'm glad to say, but Dutta's film explains away the young victim's angst or torment as though she had been peddled off for a day at a carnival. Whatever the realities of life were for 19th century working class girls, the flippant caricature offered by Dutta was most definitely not it.

Comparisons between Dutta's and Ali's films are difficult to maintain, yet unavoidable. The plot/characterizations are sufficiently different, yet one cannot help but think of the peerless Rekha as Umrao Jaan. Despite Rai's earnest performance, designer costumes, and modernized mujras, Rekha continues to literally own Umrao Jaan. Few scenes can compare to Rekha's wordless devastation in the moment her lover has come to invite her to his wedding. Her longing, yearning, and rage all rally in her eyes as angry tears and she tears away Sultan's shirt without revealing the heart she longed to conquer. Not a single moment in Dutta's film approaches the depth of this scene, and so Dutta will have to settle for the embrace of the moment, if not of history.

The same holds for the film's music: Anu Malik's compositions are fine works of music, no doubt, but there are frankly too many of them and offer little range. Javed Akhtar's lyrics, however, deserve special mention, particularly the final lament "Poochrahe Hain Poochnewale." The final stanza of "Patthar Ab Kya Phenk Raheho, Hum Pehlese Zakhmi Hain" (Why do you cast your stones when I am already wounded?) bespeaks the brilliance that *should* have been. Alas.

And so the final word is that Aishwariya is a revelation, but the film tells us something we already know: a classic cannot be remade.

Muzaffar Ali made the classic "Umrao Jaan" in 1981 starring Rekha, Farooq Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, and Raj Babbar. Compared to that, this one is entirely unwatchable.

The screenplay is terrible and barely maintains the viewer's interest for the first hour. Only towards the end is there any noticeable flow to the story. Casting is fine, but Sunil Shetty does not fit the bill of Faiz Ali.

The language of Lucknow is Urdu, and, unlike what some other commentators claim, the movie does not employ a correct version of the language. The dialect used by some characters is also incorrect. Dialogues are horrible, and Aishwarya's pronunciation of Urdu words is absolutely revolting. Umrao Jaan was an Urdu poetess, and Aishwarya does not do her justice. The playback singers, however, are excellent, especially Alka Yagnik.

Being a native of Lucknow, I know that we do not use "Baisa", "Mausa", "Apshagun", "Maan maryada" etc, especially among Muslim families, to which all the movie's characters belong. Yet, JP Dutta pays no attention to these important details, and the characters continue to use these and other wrong terms.

The characters' wardrobe is not comparable to period Lucknow or to Muzaffar Ali's version of the movie, despite Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla's involvement.

JP Dutta's Umrao Jaan is a low budget pretender of a movie, with Aishwarya's looks being the only redeeming factor.

Stay away from this film. Watch Muzaffar Ali's original version, if you can. That was a pleasure to watch.

2/10.

I saw the original movie when I was 10 back in 1982. Remakes of a successful film are always difficult because to many they will never live up to ones expectations. This one by JP Dutta was a great effort. Aishwariya looked and acted great and Abhishek had a haunting presence. And Shabana Azmi is her usual excellence. The music is wonderful - Anu Malik's stuff here is reminiscent of his "Refugee" soundtrack (which overall was better) but there are some real gems here especially "Tumhari mehfil mai aa gai hai" (gives me shivers). For many of us this movie will be nothing new - if you have seen the original or "Pakeezah" or even "Memoirs of a geisha". But it there are new and younger audiences out there who really should give it a try.

Overall its a good movie especially if you enjoy watching old classics again. The first half of the movie was very disappointing. The acting was not up to the par and dialog didn't flow smoothly. Too many songs and some of the conversations were little too long. They could have easily edited those long scenes to make it shorter and more appealing. The second half was great ! The story line picks up, there is more going on than just lovey dubbey conversations and songs between Umaro and Nawab as was the case in the first half. I think Aish acted really well and as always she looked great with those costumes, jewelery and expressive eyes.