Movies - Umrao Jaan

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	Movies - Umrao Jaan

Umrao Jaan is a Bollywood film released in 1981. It is based on the Urdu novel of the same name, and was directed by Muzaffar Ali.

Plot

In the year 1840, a young girl is kidnapped from her family and sold to a woman who trains courtesans (tawaif). The girl, renamed Umrao, learns to read, write, dance, sing, and charm men. She is no common prostitute, but a cultured woman trained to captivate men of wealth and taste.

A grown-up Umrao, played by Rekha, catches the eye of Nawab Sultan, played by Farooq Shaikh, and the two fall in love. But the Nawab must marry to please his family, and Umrao's heart is broken.

Later, she meets a dashing bandit chieftain, or dacoit, who wooes and wins her. She flees with her dacoit, hoping to marry him and leave the world of the courtesan far behind. But her lover is killed by British troops and she is left alone, with no choice to but to return to her old life.

The British attack the city of Lucknow and the residents, including Umrao, are forced to flee. Umrao's party of refugees stops in a small village near Lucknow. The residents ask the courtesans to sing and dance. Umrao, looking about her, realizes that this is her village, her family, the place from which she was kidnapped. She had been so young when kidnapped that she had forgotten it all, but now it all returns to her.

She sings the song, Yeh kya jagah hai dosto(n -- What kind of place is this, friends? -- a veiled reference to her feelings of dismay at being treated like a pariah entertainer by her own people.

Afterwards, she meets her mother and brother, who had thought that she was dead. Her mother would be happy to welcome her back into the family, but her brother forbids it -- she is tainted by her profession and must not return to embarrass them.

At the end of the film, Umrao is left alone, with nothing but her profession and her poetry.

Critical reception

Rekha was praised for her acting, if not her dancing. The supporting characters were also played by strong actors, such as Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, and Bharat Bhushan. Audiences appreciated the carefully done historical setting.

Umrao Jaan also featured a brilliant soundtrack, with music composed by Khayyam and lyrics penned by Shahryar. Several songs from the film, sung by Asha Bhosle, are considered classics of filmi music: Dil Cheez Kya Hai, In ankhon ki masti mein, and Yeh kya jagah hai doston.

2006 remake by J. P. Dutta

A remake of Umrao Jaan is filming. It is directed by J. P. Dutta and stars Aishwarya Rai as Umrao and Abhishek Bachchan as Nawab. Shabana Azmi will portray Umrao's mother. (Notably, Azmi's own mother, Shaukat Azmi, portrayed Umrao's mother in the original version of the film.) Anu Malik is the music director.

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