Umrao performs In aankhon ki masti ke - Nawab Sultan is smitten. Nawab Sultan Sahib is enticed to the kotha by Gauhar Mirza who paints such a word picture of Umrao that the young Nawab is intrigued. Also besotted is a certain Nawab to pay for Umrao's services, he is willing to sell off part of his property. The emotion the words evoke, and Umrao's very melodious voice attract the attention of a passing young nawab, Sultan Sahib (Farouque Shaikh), while Gauhar Mirza (Naseeruddin Shah), the son of a prostitute and a pimp himself, is besotted by her.
Once she begins performing, it is one of her own ghazals Dil cheez kya hai that she chooses for her debut. Umrao has also been learning poetry from Maulvi Sahib (Gajanan Jagirdar) who is Hussaini's paramour. Time passes, and soon Umrao (Rekha) and Bismillah (Prema Narayan) are two beautiful women who are ready for their presentation to the world of men, the world of elegant and cultured men who have an appreciation of music and dance and poetry recitations. It is a world that she would never have known had she remained in her parental home. The very next day, Umrao begins her training in music and dance along with Bismillah, Khanoum Jaan's daughter. At present, Khanoum Jaan's and Husseini's kindness means a great deal to the child who knows she cannot go back to her parents. She is too innocent to know what the kotha is for, and has no idea that one day, she will be a commodity on sale. After the horrifying ordeal she had been through, Ameeran is happy to acquiesce. Husseini takes over the job of bringing her up, and it is here that Ameeran becomes Umrao. As she remarks to Husseini (Dina Pathak), yahaan nahi bikti toh kahin aur bikti. Ram Dei is taken into a wealthy family, while Ameeran, dark-skinned (and therefore less attractive) is taken to a high-class kotha, where Khanoum Jaan (Shaukat Azmi)is taken by her innocence. In Lucknow, she makes friends with Ram Dei, who was abducted from a fair.Ī few days later, the girls are sold. Ameeran is not the only unfortunate girl to be so abducted. He abducts Ameeran, planning to kill her, but changes his mind when his companion offers a better idea - sell the girl in Lucknow. Her father (director Muzaffar Ali in a cameo) had testified against their neighbour Dilawar Khan (Satish Shah), as a result of which he had been sentenced to 12 years in prison. There is song and merriment and everything is exciting for the young girl, scarcely into her teens. In Faizabad, little Ameeran (Umme Farwa) is being dressed up for her engagement. Set in Lucknow in the mid-19th century, the film details both the refinement and elegance of the city, known for attracting men of culture and intellect, and the decadence of its ruling elite. It is also a very well-made period film with its meticulous attention to detail.
Apart from the fact that the original film is deservedly seen as a classic, it is a period film, a genre that I love. Of course, director JP Dutta screamed himself hoarse that he was not 'remaking' Muzaffar Ali's film, but was adapting the novel on which it was based. Umrao Jaan Ada, the legendary courtesan of Lucknow. In any case, the discussion that led to that review also led me to thinking about remakes in general, and reminded me of another classic that was remade (and butchered) - as different from Chashme Buddoor as chalk from cheese.
I fell squarely into the anti-remake group one assumes that the people who see, and like the remake, most probably have not seen the original, and even more possibly, cannot relate to a much simpler time. My last post came about because the film had been remade and had initiated a virtual debate about its cinematic quality, and the advisability of remaking films that ought not to be touched.
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