Umrao Jaan [1980] [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Rekha, Farouque Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, Muzaffar Ali: DVD

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Synopsis
The story of a singer and dancer, who is separated from her family at an early age. She falls in love, but when he marries another she decides to never dance again.

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5.0 out of 5 stars the traumas tantrums and travails of a woman in transition , 4 Mar 2009

By	Dr. U. L. Khawaja "usman khawaja" (hornchurch ,london) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

RUSWAS great urdu novel penned in 1860 is the travails of a feminine icon from lucknow who finds fame ,honour and becomes a celebrity as an artist and a poetess but is deprived of the thing she desires the most in the form of true platonic love .

the story enfolds in faizabad where ameeran the daughter of a middle class muslim bureaucrat is engaged to her cousin and then kidnapped by one of her fathers adversaries as a punitive revenge .
instead of killing her he chooses to sell her as a commodity to a courtesan house in lucknow where she is trained and polished in the arts of singing dancing and seducing aristocratic men as an institution in the grand tradition of the muslim courtesans .
the art of being a courtesan is discussed as a glorious profession with the protagonists shown as proud celebrities and highly famed and sophisticated female individuals who almost are as important as their patrons who comprised the cream of the aristocracy and regarded it a privelege to be associated with a courtesan of distinction as it had become a ritual part of the noble pageantry within a rather degenerate though highly evolved cultural environment which boasted of poetry art and music as the reason for existence while ignoring the more ignoble aspects of the degenerating muslim aristocracy .

ruswa has discussed this in detail and muzaffar ali shah the director who also adapted this book is accredited to have brought his book to a definitive contemporary version of the great classic by imbuing the role of the iconic coutresan on the talented shoulders of the immensely delightful charms of REKHA .

rekha has a voice and URDU elocution that are immaculate and add her charms and exquisite dance talent with her natural histrionics and she is the perfect choice for a role she was born to play .

the diversity of the role as it ranges from coquettry to intellectual exorcism and delightful dancing festivals to the anguished pathos of lost love is conveyed by rekha in a manner which is both totally convincing and stunning in affect .

the men here are rather pawns with farooq sheikh playing her paramour and patron who will not have the courage to match her spirit or pride while naseer plays her rather sophisticated pimp who is more of a contemporary nemesis of a celebrity agent .

the artifice of the pastel colours and the elegant spectacle is very subtle as graceful as a swan that rekha symbolises and also a rather realistic portrait in the tradition of stanley kubrick classics like barry lyndon -where the splendour of the period antiquity is illuminated in a distinguished candle lit ethereal atmosphere bordering onto a twilight world but with the emotional impact of the truth reverbrating in the foreground .

the tragic figure is both stoic and strong as she is a loner and a survivor even as she elopes with a dacoit guised as an aristocrat played with immense presence by raj babbar which brings the story to a new dimension as she widens her own world to another vista and her quest for her self identity reaches a new celestial height as the female intellectual she has created in her public image .

she might be rejected by the ones she most loves but she attains a level of emancipation in her adventures which distinguish her markedly from the mundane existence of an ordinary content marital existence .

thus umrao jaan distinguishes itself both as realistic masteract and a great musical set piece with the dicine vocals of asha recreating the demimonde of the eighteenth century luknow in a magical reality with a memorable musical score by khayyam and great poetry penned by the urdu poet shaharyar .

the final accolades are though belonging to shah and rekha who seem immensely inspired artistically and spiritually to create a piece which is able to eclipse the works of david lean and kubrick in its visual wizardry and its philosophical treatise .

as umrao entreats naseer as a pimp cum fake pretender husband to take all her jewels and set her free with a divorce from a fictitious marriage that is her golden prison she reaches an eternal height where few movies or scripts have been able to levitate with their emotional intensity .
his answer is rather a non traditional truthful reply from a man caught in the middle as he empathises with her plight but will not betray the system that he is part of and is dependent on for his own physical survival ,

umrao is a fascinating lament about the conflict between that spiritual and material battle which has become the destiny of all humanity in its joys and misery and the fact umrao illustrates both in a perfect cinematic language is a joy to behold for once and ever .

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hats off to Mirza Hadi Ruswa and Muzaffar Ali, 6 Aug 2008

By	Shiv Sharma "shiv" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mirza Hadi Ruswa has narrated the tale of Umrao Jaan in an elegant manner in his novel. And Muzaffar Ali brilliantly made Umrao Jaan live on screen. Further compliments to Khayyam who composed wonderful music.
And finally salue to Asha bonsle, Jagjit Kaur and Talat Aziz for wonerful singing.
Rekha has played the character of Umrao by heart.
This movie is one of the classic movies of hindi cinema.
We have had the chance to enjoy the acting of great actors like rekha, farooq sheikh and nassirudin shah.

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Umrao Jaan [1980] [DVD]

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