All gloss and no substance?

The world premiere of Umrao Jaan, a Star Middle East presentation in association with Adlabs and Hum FM, took place in Dubai at The Grand Cineplex (Grand Hyatt) on November 2. This was no ordinary premiere as we had Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan and J. P. Dutta walking the red carpet.

The frenzied fans went berserk on seeing their favourite stars as they mobbed Rai and Bachchan. The security had a tough time escorting them to the cinema hall. And much to the crowd's delight, the stars spoke to the audience before the film began and even asked them to bless their venture.

Coming to the film, Umrao Jaan failed to live up to the hype and expectations. The audience was hooked on to the story initially but the innumerable number of boring songs and the length of the film made them restless. Rai was mesmerising and the audience was spellbound by her costumes. Bachchan as a passionate and rebellious prince stole everyone's hearts.

Shabana Azmi deserved tremendous applause for her performance. Many preferred to see the stars in flesh and blood rather in a tragic and lengthy tale of Umrao Jaan. The film seemed to appeal to the older generation while the younger generation could not hide their boredom.