First things first. J.P. Dutta's Umrao Jaan is not a remake of Muzaffar Ali's 1981 Umrao Jaan, but is his own interpretation based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's novel Umrao Jaan Ada. Dutta, who is better known for his war films, has tried his best to sensitively portray Umrao Jaan's emotional journey, but he succeeds in only beautifully recreating 19th century Lucknow and presenting Aishwarya Rai at her best.
As expected, whenever Dutta tries to make a film passionately, the editing becomes loose, resulting in an endless saga.
Eight-year-old Ameeran is abducted and sold to a brothel owned by the astute Khanum Sahib (Shabana Azmi). The girl grows up into a beautiful courtesan and is renamed Umrao (played by Rai). During her debut performance, Nawab Sultan (Abhishek Bachchan) is swept away by Umrao's beauty. Just when Umrao dreams of settling down with Sultan, his father disapproves of their relationship and they are temporarily separated.
Meanwhile, Faiz Ali (Suniel Shetty), a dacoit disguised as a prince tries to woo Umrao. Sultan, misled by Faiz, doubts Umrao's fidelity and shatters her dreams. She goes in search of the child in her. This tragic tale is narrated in a flashback in which Umrao laments about her life to Ruswa, the author himself.
Dutta has created the right ambience for the film, but his attempt at the grandiose tale is lethargically unfolded and does not hold you emotionally till the end. Despite the fact that his father O.P. Dutta wrote the intriguing dialogues, there is no consistency in the Urdu spoken by the characters. Rai gives a stunning performance and definitely leaves her mark as Umrao Jaan.
Bachchan looks very much like a prince and his character is much stronger in comparison to Farooq Shaikh's timid Nawab act in the 1981 version. Watch out for his drunken scene which reminded us of Amitabh Bachchan. Azmi electrifies the screen with her shrewd act and she is easily the best in the film.
Shetty is average. Puru Rajkumar as Gauhar Mirza is miscast. But I don't know why the overweight, overaged Ayesha Jhulka and Divya Dutta were chosen to play Khurshid and Bismillah.
Anu Malik's music suits the movie's theme, but it definitely does not increase the impact of the film. It is rather is boring at times. Anna Singh and Bindiya Dutta's costumes are splendid and mesmerise the audience. Bijon Das Gupta's art direction is fantastic.
The film's three-hour running time may tax audiences who are not well versed in Urdu, but it could be easily worth watching if they have a remote control in hand. The film will be remembered for Rai's beauty and her costumes more than anything else.
Critics advice: Parental guidance required
