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Umrao Jaan (1981 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Umrao Jaan' is a 1981 Indian period musical drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha as the eponymous character. Based on the 1905 Urdu novel 'Umrao Jaan Ada', the film tells the story of a Lucknow courtesan and her rise to fame.
Plot
In the year 1840, a girl named Amiran is kidnapped from her family in Faizabad and sold to Khanum Jaan, the madam of a brothel in Lucknow who teaches young courtesans. Renamed Umrao Jaan, Amiran turns into a cultured woman trained to captivate men of wealth and taste.
Umrao catches the eye of Nawab Sultan and the two fall in love, but the relationship comes to an end when Nawab reveals he must marry in order to please his family. Umrao then becomes infatuated with bandit chieftain Faiz Ali, who woos and wins her heart. She elopes with him, but is forced to return to Lucknow after Ali is killed by local police.
Some time later, British forces lay siege to Lucknow and the residents evacuate the city. Umrao's party of refugees stops in a small village, which Umrao recognizes as Faizabad. The residents fail to recognize her, however, and ask her to dance for their pleasure.
Afterwards, she reunites with her family, who believed her to be dead. Her mother is happy to welcome Umrao back, but her brother forbids it and orders Umrao to never return. She returns to Lucknow to find the brothel looted and deserted.
Cast
* Rekha as Amiran/Umrao Jaan
** Seema Sathyu and Umme Farwa as young Amiran
* Farooq Shaikh as Nawab Sultan
* Naseeruddin Shah as Gohar Mirza
* Raj Babbar as Faiz Ali
* Ishtiaque Khan as Khan Ghilzai
* Gajanan Jagirdar as Maulvi Saheb
* Shaukat Kaifi as Khanum Jaan
* Dina Pathak as Husseini
* Prema Narayan as Bismillah Jaan
* Bharat Bhushan Bhalla as Khan Saheb
* Mukri as Parnan Aziz
* Satish Shah as Daroga Dilawar
Crew
* Art Direction: Muzaffar Ali, Bansi Chandragupta, Manzoor
* Choreography: Gopi Krishna for the song " Dil Cheez Kya Hai ", Kumudini Lakhia[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083248/fullcredits Cast and crew] 'IMDb'.
* Costume Design: Subhashini Ali
Release and reception
According to author Anitaa Padhye's 'Ten Classics (English)', 'Umrao Jaan' was released theatrically on 2 January 1981.
Rekha was praised for her acting, and she was awarded the National Award for her portrayal of the central character. But the box office returns were just average.[http://www.boxofficeindia.com/topactresses.htm Umrao Jaan] topactresses, boxofficeindia The supporting characters were played by Naseeruddin Shah, Farooq Shaikh, Raj Babbar and Bharat Bhushan. Critics responded favourably to the carefully done historical setting.
The soundtrack was composed by Khayyam and the lyrics were penned by Shahryar. Several songs from the film, sung by Asha Bhosle, are considered classics of filmi music: "Dil Cheez Kya Hai", "Justuju Jiski Thi", "In Ankhon Ki Masti Ke", and "Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston". Today, Umrao Jaan is considered at par with other cult classics such as 'Pakeezah' (1972) and is widely acclaimed as one of India's great cinematic magnum opus.
Soundtrack
The music of the film was composed by Khayyam, while the lyrics were penned by Shahryar.
Accolades
Musical
SalimSulaiman adapted the film into a musical play, 'Umrao Jaan Ada - The Musical', in 2019. The theatrical adaptation was directed by Rajeev Goswami with Pratibha Baghel in the titular role of the courtesan.
References
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