Umrao Jaan

I happened to watch original Umrao Jann just a few days back by chance and instantly fell for classic movies. As soon as this remake was released i went especially to theater to watch and i didn't regret as it was equally good. Story was not completely a copy of original one ,instead some more good ideas were added. I think it wont be fair to both REKHA and ASH to compare them with each other as both performed equally well and were a perfect choice for the character as it demanded some thing beyond than just the verbal performance. Songs are really touchy esp SALAAM and JIS ZINDAGE NAY AP SE MILWA DIYA HAMAIN. Though the duration of the movie is too long for the typical Indian movie (which is the only not-so-good aspect to some extent) but if considered it was inevitable for such a story. Its not that Abhishak didn't perform well, he did an OK job, its just that he doesn't have the typical NAWAB FEATURES, or may b we are looking forward to his upcoming DHOOM 2 featuring him as the cool cop, so perhaps having that image in mind i just couldn't digest him playing a NAWAB in this movie. Rest the sets were good and the costumes too, though the dialogs if written with more depth would have added more to it. Anyway overall everybody did a good job. And one last thing,even if the movie didn't do well on box office, Ash should get best actress award this year. What do u say??

Dutta once idiotically said that, "Aishwarya Rai wasn't meant for Umrao Jaan but Umrao Jaan was made for Aishwarya Rai". Little did he expect his film to deservedly receive such negative reaction from the general public. With lavish sets and tailor made costumes, the film certainly has a glossy look, like that of an expensive soap opera.

The writing is flat and melodramatic. Most of the lines, that are delivered so poorly by the actors, are sleep inducing. Moreover the movie drags on for hours. The songs are downright boring. The lyrics lack uniqueness and creativity and their placement in the movie only slows down the pace.

The acting is terribly melodramatic. A theatrical Aishwarya Rai and a wooden Abhishek Bachchan share some of the most boring scenes in the movie. Not only that, but Rai seems to have lost some of her dancing abilities that she proved in movies like 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'. Here her mechanical moves lack grace. Divya Dutta and Ayesha Jhulka are wasted. Only Shabana Azmi manages to transcend with a superb performance. Her Khanum Jaan is the only character that's properly fleshed out and Azmi's final scene is the one moment when the viewer sympathizes with a character in the film.

I may have used many words here that related to 'being bored' but that should be enough to provide a brief description of one of the biggest snoozefests of 2006.

I do not understand what was the need to re-make a classic without doing the home work. my second language was Urdu and it was so disturbing to hear the word Sangeet twice, at the start of the film, instead of Mouseeqi.

Aishwarya should have also taken diction classes for the language when she thought of brushing her dancing skills.

JP Dutta has come up with a utter disappointment for the lovers of Urdu language in form of Umrao Jaan. And wasn't the attraction between Umrao Jaan and Nawab Sultan based on their love of poetry. All I remember was one couplet. Phew!

We all know Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World....but isn't she an actor now? So she should leave her crown behind and practise her acting skills more. I mean she didn't even get the word Khuda right in the film. And what was about trying sound like Rekha when she and Abhishek were parting ways? Strange bouts of husky voice.

Argh!

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.