Umrao Jaan
credits:
Director: J.P. DuttaProducer: J.P. Dutta
Writers: J.P. Dutta, O.P. Dutta
Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Suneil Shetty
India 2006 | 188 mins | 35mm | Hindi w/E.S.
Considered by many to be the most beautiful actress in the world, Aishwarya Rai (BRIDE AND PREJUDICE) delivers one of the finest performances of her career as the titular character in UMRAO JAAN, an adaptation of a popular 1905 Urdu novel. That’s no small feat, for Rai is stepping into the enormous shoes of legendary actress Rekha, star of the 1981 film version that became an instant Indian classic.
Director J.P. Dutta remains largely faithful to the novel and earlier film as he retells the life saga of Ameeran, who is kidnapped from her village at age eight and sold to an upscale kotha (brothel) in Lucknow. There, in the sophisticated cultural capital of North India, Ameeran is renamed Umrao, trained in music, dance and social etiquette, and groomed to become a courtesan. Years later, and now a stunning adult, Umrao debuts with a breathtaking solo performance before a local dignitary, Nawab Sultan (Abhishek Bachchan, now Rai’s real-life husband). Against all the rules, they fall for each other. But before long, Umrao’s life takes some dramatic, unexpected turns; Sultan is forced to leave town, another dignitary pursues Umrao and the British invasion looms.
Dutta recreates the romantic aura of Lucknow through location filming in the atmospheric old city, opulent sets and costumes, all captured in glorious, mouthwatering cinematography. In the center, of course, is the radiant Rai, whose riveting song-and-dance performances and wide-ranging emotional arc anchors this powerful saga of a courtesan in a way that MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA could only dream about.
—Taro Goto
