Umrao Jaan

Article Updated 10 November, 2006 12:30:14 AM IST

Umrao Jaan

The film drags painfully and is so listless that one is forced to get up and leave the theatre for a cup of coffee at regular intervals, especially during the songs. To give credit to the maker, he has captured that era to which the story belongs in a beautifully way. It also has some sensitive performances and is also visually rich in places. However, the film lacks the power to enrapture the audience.

Now for the story. Umrao Jaan (Aishwarya Rai) was born as Amiran in Faizabad. She's shown as the young daughter of a lower middle class family. Her father (Parikshit Sahni) was a jamadar at the 'Bahu Begum ka Makhbara' there. He gives evidence in a case against Dilawar Khan (Vishwajeet Pradhan), who is sentenced to jail for ten years.

After finishing his sentence, Dilawar kidnaps Amiran and sell her to a kotha owned by Khanum Sahib (Shabana Azmi) in Lucknow. The kotha is also a temple of learning.

Khanum gives her the name 'Umrao'. She is in the care of Bua (Himani Shivpuri) and Maulvi Sahib (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) who educate her. She grows up in the company of Bismillah (Divya Dutta), Khurshid (Ayesha Julka) and Gauhar (Puru Raaj Kumar). She gives her first performance and becomes a rage in Lucknow.

Nawab Sultan (Abhishek Bachchan) is smitten by her. She too falls in love with him. But luck is not on her side. Problems beset the lover until they are separated forever.
A dacoit, Faiz (Suniel Shetty), too is smitten by Umrao and causes a major misunderstanding between the lovers. Faiz manages to bring an interesting twist in the tale.

Later, the war makes Umrao homeless. She returns to Faizabad in the hope of meeting her family. She discovers that her father is dead. To add to her miseries, her mother (Maya Alagh) and brother disown her. Amiran is forced to become Umrao Jaan again.

The only moving scene in the film is when Amiran is kidnapped and transported in a truck to Lucknow. She is tied up in a gunny bag with a cloth tied firmly around her mouth. She sees her father on the road but is unable to scream for help. Her anguish is shown only through her eyes that are visible through the opening in the gunny bag. But one doesn't really feel for Umrao otherwise except of course, when the Nawab disowns her and tells her to return to Lucknow.

Performances- Aishwarya Rai looks beautiful in places but is still not worth the price of your ticket. But her vulnerability as well as strength comes across very well in some scenes, especially when she goes to meet her Nawab and gets the brush-off from him.

Abhishek Bachchan is okay. He's better equipped for comedy and action rather than romantic roles especially where he's required to emote through facial expressions.

Shabana Azmi is superb, especially in the sequence when she insults Abhishek. Suniel Shetty is okay. Puru leaves a mark. Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Himani Shivpuri lend good support. Divya Dutta and Ayesha Julka leave a mark in brief roles.

Anu Malik's music is a disappointment. The dialogues are boring. The costumes are rich but the makeup is garish in places. Excellent cinematography and brilliant sets by Bijon Das Gupta. Choreography is adequate. The script, pace and length of the film, and the songs, all work against the film.

It looks like a film that may not even survive the weekend. A loser for sure!

** (Two Stars)

*poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent

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