Umrao Jaan (1981 film)
Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Indian art 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.
| Umrao Jaan | |
|---|---|
 Umrao Jaan film poster | |
| Directed by | Muzaffar Ali |
| Produced by | Muzaffar Ali S. K. Jain & Sons |
| Written by | Muzaffar Ali Javed Siddiqui Shama Zaidi (Dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Muzaffar Ali Javed Siddiqui Shama Zaidi |
| Based on | Umrao Jaan Ada by Mirza Hadi Ruswa |
| Starring | Rekha Seema Sathyu Farooq Shaikh Naseeruddin Shah Umme Farwa Shaukat Kaifi Dina Pathak Prema Narayan Gajanan Jagirdar Raj Babbar Bharat Bhushan Satish Shah (uncredited) |
| Music by | Khayyam Shahryar (lyrics) |
| Cinematography | Pravin Bhatt |
| Edited by | B. Prasad |
Release date |
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Running time | 145 min. |
| Language | Hindustani[1] |
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.
Sometime later, British soldiers attack Lucknow and the residents are forced to flee. 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 as Young Amiran
- Farooq Shaikh as Nawab Sultan
- Naseeruddin Shah as Gohar Mirza
- Raj Babbar as Faiz Ali
- Ishtiaque Khan as Khan Ghilzai (Farooq Shaikh Father)
- Gajanan Jagirdar as Maulvi Saheb
- Shaukat Kaifi as Khanum Jaan
- Umme Farwa as Young Amiran
- Dina Pathak as Husseini
- Prema Narayan as Bismillah Jaan
- Bharat Bhushan as Khan Saheb (Music Master)
- 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[2]
- Costume Design: Subhashini Ali
Reception
Rekha was praised for her acting, but the box office returns were just average.[3] 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 Aankhon Ki Masti", and "Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston".
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Rekha | National Film Award for Best Actress | Won |
| Asha Bhosle | National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer | Won | |
| Khayyam | National Film Award for Best Music Direction | Won | |
| Manzur[4] | National Film Award for Best Art Direction | Won | |
| 1982 | Muzaffar Ali | Filmfare Award for Best Director | Won |
| Khayyam | Filmfare Award for Best Music Director | Won | |
| Rekha[5] | Filmfare Award for Best Actress | Nominated | |
| 1982 | Best Feature Film of 1982 | 1st Matri Shree Media Award | Won |
Songs
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dil Cheez Kya Hai" | Shahryar | Asha Bhosle | 6:06 |
| 2. | "In Ankhon Ki Masti Ke" | Shahryar | Asha Bhosle | 5:42 |
| 3. | "Jab Bhi Milti Hai" | Shahryar | Asha Bhosle | 1:28 |
| 4. | "Jhoola Kinne Dala" | Shahryar | Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Shahida Khan Nizami | 2:31 |
| 5. | "Justuju Jiski Thi" | Shahryar | Asha Bhosle | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Kahe Ko Byahi Bides" | Amir Khusrow[6] | Jagjit Kaur | 4:52 |
| 7. | "Raagmala" | Shahryar | Mustafa Khan, Runa Prasad, Shahida Khan | 5:22 |
| 8. | "Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston" | Shahryar | Asha Bhosle | 6:07 |
| 9. | "Zindagi Jab Bhi" | Shahryar | Talat Aziz | 4:51 |
| 10. | "Pratham Dhar Dhyan" | Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan |
Remake
A remake of Umrao Jaan was released on 3 November 2006. It is directed by J.P. Dutta and stars Aishwarya Rai as Umrao Jaan, Sunil Shetty as Faiz Ali, Puru Raaj Kumar as Gauhar Mirza and Abhishek Bachchan as Nawab Sultan. Shabana Azmi portrays Madam Khanum Jaan (notably, Azmi's own mother, Shaukat Kaifi, portrayed Madam Khanum Jaan in the original version of the film). The music is composed by Anu Malik and the lyrics are penned by Javed Akhtar.
In popular culture
Vanya Mishra danced to the song at Miss World 2012.
References
- "National Film Archive of India". nfai.gov.in. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- Cast and crew IMDb.
- Umrao Jaan topactresses, boxofficeindia
- "29th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals.
- Fimfare Awards Award listings
- http://lib.bazmeurdu.net/انتخاب-امیر-خسرو-۔۔۔-جمع-و-ترتیب-اعجاز/
External links
- Umrao Jaan on IMDb