Umrao Jaan (2006 film)

2006 Indian film by J. P. Dutta
the 2006 film directed by J. P. Dutta

Umrao Jaan is a 2006 Indian period musical romantic drama film produced and directed by J. P. Dutta, based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada and is about the famous Tawaif of the title. Aishwarya Rai stars in the lead role along with Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in supporting roles. Produced on a budget of 150 million, and grossed 195.2 million. which in turn was adapted from the classic Urdu novel Umrao Jan Ada by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. The film was shot on location including some palaces from Jaipur. Saroj Khan was selected to choreograph the dances, but backed out owing to disagreements with director J. P. Dutta. She was replaced by Vaibhavi Merchant. Several of the roles were changed during pre production. Priyanka Chopra was considered to play the part of Umrao Jaan, but could not allot the ninety consecutive dates required for shooting due to her prior commitments in Bluffmaster! (2005). Arshad Warsi was to star in the film as Gauhar Mirza, but dropped out soon after as he chose to appear in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Subsequently, Puru Raaj Kumar replaced Warsi. Shabana Azmi, who plays the role of Khannum Jaan, is the daughter of Shaukat Azmi, who played the same role in the 1981 version. Saif Ali Khan was approached for the role of Nawab Sultan in the film along with Akshaye Khanna in Faiz Ali's role, but both declined the film due to other projects. This led to Abhishek Bachchan replacing Saif Ali Khan, and Sunil Shetty replacing Akshaye Khanna.

The music is by Anu Malik and the lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The full album is recorded by Alka Yagnik, Anmol Malik, Richa Sharma and Sonu Nigam, and was released on T Series label. Malik's daughter Anmol Malik made her singing debut with this album, she rendered her voice for "Agle Janam Mohe Bitya (Reprise)".

The film performed poorly at the box office, grossing only Rs. 6,49,00,000. The film received negative reviews from critics. Many of them reacted unfavourably to J. P. Dutta's direction and the film's three hour running time, and several critics panned it while comparing it to the highly acclaimed 1981 version directed by Muzaffar Ali. BBC film critic Poonam Joshi concluded, "J. P. Dutta's film is an Ash fest that adds little to the legacy of Umrao Jaan." She praised Azmi's performance as "exemplary" and wrote about Rai, "While only Rai could emulate the grace and poise of Rekha, she doesn't quite capture the intensity of Umrao's abiding melancholy", later commenting that "her incandescent beauty and artistry does indeed keep the audience watching, though not necessarily emotionally engaged." Describing Rai's performance, Nikhat Kazmi wrote, "she's riveting in places, diligent throughout and tries so hard to recreate a lost world of grandeur that your heart almost goes out to her." while Rediff gave two and a half rating out of five and wrote "there is Rai the star, queen and saving grace of Umrao Jaan. She enthralls with her gorgeousness, the precision in her dance movements, elegance in her gestures and sincerity in her willingness to become Umrao Jaan". Susan Muthalaly from The Hindu wrote, "Umrao Jaan remains a spectacle that does nothing for you, personally." She wrote about Rai, "You'd think that since she's playing someone so close to her real life, there would be real feeling in the performance. But remember, this is a realistic performance, so Rai stays true to her real life character and shows no genuine emotion for most of the film. She dances like a dream, but her range of emotions is limited." Another review in The Hindu said, "Umrao Jaan of 2006 would be at best remembered as a poor man's remake of a classic or a love story with a period flavour." The Tribune concluded that "Umrao Jaan fails to impress" and while referring to Rai's performance wrote, "She is no match to Rekha". Seena Menon of Deccan Herald said, "Unfortunately, watching 19th century Lucknow in the 2006 version of Umrao Jaan gives you nothing but a feeling akin to staring at a glass model of the original." Kathakali Jana from Hindustan Times wrote, "Though comparing the film with the 1981 magnum opus is not fair, what does one do with a baggage of incredible weight? One simply remembers it again and decides to go back to it once more." Similarly, Jana wrote about Rai that she "looks lovely when she smiles. She looks lovelier when she cries. Dutta's screenplay – which runs into 180 excruciating minutes – allows her to do both in good measure. But where is the celebrated 19th century tawaif of Lucknow whose untold sufferings could do nothing to strip her of her dignity?" Ziya Us Salam wrote for the same newspaper in a more positive review, "At its soul, body, even content, this Umrao Jaan is as beautiful as its leading lady (Rai), the one who once had the world at her feet." Gullu Singh, another reviewer for Rediff, praised the film for being more loyal to the novel." Worldwide, the film has grossed Rs. 19.52 crore, including $485,000 at the U. S. box office.