Umrao Jaan (2005)

67% of users liked it
(4,891 ratings)

A young courtesan kidnapped from her home and sold into slavery ultimately transcends her grim fate in director J.P. Dutta's adaptation of author Mirza Haadi Ruswa's classic 1905 novel. Previously adapted for the screen to great acclaim in 1981, Ruswa's novel tells the story of a middle class girl… More A young courtesan kidnapped from her home and sold into slavery ultimately transcends her grim fate in director J.P. Dutta's adaptation of author Mirza Haadi Ruswa's classic 1905 novel. Previously adapted for the screen to great acclaim in 1981, Ruswa's novel tells the story of a middle class girl kidnapped by a habitual offender who had been imprisoned for ten years as a result of her father's damning testimony. Determined to curse his accuser with a fate worse than death, the vengeful ex-convict spirited the man's daughter away and sold the young girl - then known as Amiran - to a brothel in Lucknow. Subsequently given the name Umrao, raised in the lap of luxury, and trained to be a great entertainer, the young girl would grow up to become one of the most beautiful and popular entertainers of her time. Yet despite all of her success, something was missing in the life of the girl now known as Umrao. Though fortune seemed to smile down on her against all odds, Umrao soon fell in love with the powerful Nawab Sultan and longed to start a family with the influential figure despite the fact that their love seemed doomed from the onset. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 3 hr. 8 min.
Directed By: J.P. Dutta
Written By: Muzzafar Ali
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International

In Theaters: Nov 3, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Jan 23, 2007
Studio: Adlabs Films

Critic Reviews

Derek Elley, Variety
Demands more patience than usual mainstream Hindi fare but rewards the viewer with fine perfs and a story that engages emotionally over the three-hour span.
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
This story has all the hallmarks of a grand tragedy, but under J.P. Dutta's leaden direction, Umrao Jaan never registers a pulse.
David Chute, L.A. Weekly
At three and a half hours, J.P. Dutta's lugubrious period melodrama Umrao Jaan defeated me. It feels endless.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lanning :

With sincere apologies to all my flixster friends who are huge Bollywood fans . . . Walter, I say, with great guilt, that I could not bear another syllable of this one. Not another frame, not another cut, not another jot, not another iota. In fairness to me, I have… More
With sincere apologies to all my flixster friends who are huge Bollywood fans . . . Walter, I say, with great guilt, that I could not bear another syllable of this one. Not another frame, not another cut, not another jot, not another iota. In fairness to me, I have been on an all-Bollywood, all-the-time crusade recently, so you'll see how highly, if you check my history of reviews, I've rated some BW product. Seriously, Walter, I was climbing the walls a few minutes into this one. I'm sure, because I'm a long-time flixster supporter to the bitter end, upholding the flixsterian democratic ideal that we are all entitled to our own opinions, no matter how narrow and inflexible they may be, that this one will most assuredly get big star ratings from other flixsters -- just not from me. It's another one, Walter, for our list. Please feel free to label me old, insensitive, and unbending, if you will, but I tried. I truly gave it the "old college" try. Just as with tripe like so-so Blue, or actually decent White -- the best one in a threesome of not-often-under-gushed-about fodder --, and seriously-most-disappointing and wholly vacuous color-trio buddy Red. I really, really, really tried, Walter. But, as you know even way up there in the far East-North, time is precious, and life is short. I mean it: long live GOOD Bollywood.
Leo L

An amazing movie! Loved it! Brought tears to my eyes.

Cast

Shabana Azmi
as Khanum
Suniel Shetty
as Faiz Ali
Aishwarya Rai
as Ameeran/Umrao Jaan

Abhishek Bachchan
as Nawab Sultan
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
as Maulvi
Himani Shivpuri
as Bua Hussaini

See full cast

Umrao Jaan (2005)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Lanning :

Leo L

Cast