Umrao Jaan-The 1981 film

25Jun09

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Umrao Jaan is a Bollywood film released in 1981. It is based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada (1905), written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa based on the famous Lucknow courtesan. The film starred Bollywood actress Rekha. The film was directed by Muzaffar Ali.

Rekha was praised for her acting, but the box office returns were just average. 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 written 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”, and “Yeh kya jagah hai doston” that is a veiled reference to her feelings of dismay at being treated like a pariah entertainer by her very own people.

Umrao Jaan catches the eye of Nawab Sultan (Farooq Shaikh), and the two fall in love. But the Nawab must marry to please his family, and Umrao’s heart is left alone. Umrao Jaan then meets a dashing bandit chieftain, Faiz Ali (Raj Babbar), 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 local police and she is left alone, with no choice but to return to her old life.

At the end of the film, Umrao returns to the now-deserted and looted brothel in Lucknow and finds she is left alone, with nothing but her profession and her poetry. Based on a claasic Urdu novel, this is the tale of a lovely courtsan (Rekha) who was abducted as a child and trained in music and dance.

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Tags: Asha Bhosle, Bharat Bhushan, Bollywood, India, Lucknow, Mirza Hadi Ruswa, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, rekha, Umrao Jaan, Umrao Jaan-The 1981 film