I am very, very greedy, says Ash

At the music launch of his ambitious project Umrao Jaan, producer-director Jyoti Prakash Dutta, better known in film circles as J.P. Dutta, pays a big tribute to Aishwarya Rai.

"After watching her perform, I got the feeling that Umrao Jaan herself chose Aishwarya Rai and not vice versa!"

Aishwarya herself looks like a million dollars when she enters the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency at Mumbai.

I manage to get a few moments with Aishwarya who greets me affectionately, as she always has, since the first time I met her while she was working in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar almost a decade ago. Excerpts from the conversation:

How was the experience of working in Umrao Jaan?

I have had a wide range as an actress in Umrao Jaan. I begin my journey as Ameeran, the girl who was only 9 years old when she was sold into the flesh trade of Lucknow and had to take her own envious evil eye off her own reflection in the mirror and move on to the young and beautiful Umrao Jaan, who, besides having the kind of face that she had, was also a poetess and composer of music.

This unforgettable experience has strengthened my belief in world cinema. I have always believed that each time a story is being told and retold it is nothing but the interpretation of the director who is wielding the megaphone for that particular film. There is no doubt about it.

How tough was the transition from being just Aishwarya Rai to Umrao Jaan?

I am of the opinion that cinema always finds its own audiences. Enacting the part of Umrao Jaan in Duttasaab's film has been undoubtedly an emotional journey traversed through the eyes of the director.

I think I am indeed blessed to have been selected to be a part of a project where I could get the rare opportunity to collaborate as an actress with greats like lyricist Javedji, music director Anu Malik and director Duttasaab.

How demanding and draining was your job as an actress in Umrao Jaan?

Though I should concede that the task of getting into the skin of the character of Umrao Jaan was very demanding and emotionally draining, as an actress it provided the perfect platform for me to prove my versatility as an actress, making the entire process absolutely satisfying and inspiring, even forcing me to deliver my best.

It was, I should confess, a sheer joy for the actress in me to work with a maker like Duttasaab with whom I had the great privilege of working for the first time in my career. I guess the synergy we had as a director-actress has definitely translated itself on the screen. It was a sensitive and heartfelt role. I do not think I could have asked for anything better than this.

What was your reaction when J.P. Dutta approached you to play Umrao Jaan?

I just cannot describe the feeling in words. I have always been very greedy as a member of the great Indian film industry to get to work with the special combination of J.P. Dutta and Javed Akhtar. It was a fulfilling job as an actress to face the camera for Umrao Jaan. The wheel is virtually complete.

What is amazing about Duttasaab is the fact that though he could have grabbed the opportunity to make every song in the film an exquisite item number, he has chosen as a director to make every song a part of the narrative.

How did you approach the role as an actress?

I kept in mind the fact that Umrao Jaan sings from her soul and the film is all about an entire journey from the time she was sold as the 9-year-old Ameeran to a brothel up to the last point as a mujra dancer.

The best thing about the film is that the dances do not come as distractions, unlike most of the films which are being released these days. As a girl who belongs to the new generation, I too tend to speak in English for the simple reason that I am not as fluent in Hindi, but nevertheless I should confess that I enjoyed to the hilt mouthing the dialogues in Umrao Jaan because they were written in a flow.
What kind of chemistry did you share with Abhishek Bachchan on the sets?

It is only the media which sets out to talk about the chemistry, geography and physics between the co-actors on the sets. All that I can say is the atmosphere on the sets was very homely.
Abhishek has been a wonderful co-actor. I had acted with him earlier in Kuch Na Kaho as well as Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, besides Bunty Aur Babli. After Umrao Jaan, I am once again working with him now in Dhoom 2 as well as Mani Ratnam's Guru. Abhishek completely surrenders himself to the director and is an actor who commits himself completely to the character that he sets out to portray on the screen, whoever the director may be.

Have you had an opportunity to interact with a diva like Rekha?

I am blessed that I got this opportunity to play the same character, which has been made evergreen by an actress of the calibre of Rekhaji. Rekhaji is such a sweet person. I had actually met her even before I had got into films. I was into modelling at that point in time. I remember Rekhaji had stopped her car to come out and predict to me that I will get into films eventually. She has had a chequered career, which very few divas have managed to get. I have seen Umrao Jaan several times but I had never ever dreamt even in my wild dreams that I'd end up playing the part of Umrao Jaan one day.

Were you scared that you would be compared with Rekha?

I was not scared at all because when I was signed for the film, Duttasaab had given me the brief that I had to interpret the character of Umrao Jaan as per his vision as the director and I had complete trust in my director. Though I'd say that I have delivered what the director wanted me to, I would also state that being the kind of performer that she is, Rekhaji will always be a great inspiration for all time to come for several generations of actors.

All said and done I'd also say that though I was definitely inspired by her performance in Umrao Jaan, I did not set out to copy her because Rekhaji is Rekhaji.

How would you describe J.P. Dutta as a director?

The first person we actors have to satisfy on the sets is our director, because it is he who ultimately okays our performances. I am happy Duttasaab bestowed his confidence and faith in me to deliver as Umrao Jaan.

Working under his direction for the first time, I should say that I was definitely challenged as an actor on the sets of Umrao Jaan. He makes you alert as an actor and manages to keep you focused as the character on the sets.

Did you know?

Priyanka Chopra was J.P. Dutta's original choice for Umrao Jaan, but she turned the part down to work in Bluff Master (2005). Aishwarya Rai, on the other hand, was to work on Bluff Master (2005), but she was replaced with Priyanka Chopra.

That's not all. Before J.P. Dutta considered Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai for the lead, he wanted Kareena Kapoor to play Umrao Jaan. Kareena declined the part after a meeting with him.

Arshad Warsi was originally signed on to work on this film. But he dropped out before filming to work on Munnabhai.

The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.

According to J.P. Dutta, the film is based on the script wriiten by his father O.P. Dutta

3 of the men whom Aishwarya Rai has dated:

Salman Khan
Viveik Oberoi
Abhishek Bachchan