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Friday 22 October 2010

Only for Amiran (Umrao Jaan)

The last time I met Meera Ali, and that would be about fours years ago, I kept singing praises about her husband's landmark film. The elegant personality that she is, Meera took my childish prattle rather sportingly and invited me to her house in Mumbai where I could meet Muzaffar Ali. Elated at the offer, I hardly gave enough attention to her new collection of weaves and clothes, which she was showcasing in Kolkata for the first time. Mind you, I was yet to see Umrao Jaan then.

Four years later, the enthusiasm to meet the director remains unmitigated. I just finished watching Muzaffar Ali's 1981 masterpiece. Given my crazy schedule of work (and its hardly helping that the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week starts tomorrow) I've not had any time to see my beloved golden oldies. Driven up the wall and my head spinning like a Ferris wheel, I just had to rejuvenate with a film. And, I chose Umrao Jaan for the sheer belief that this one film should fill the gap that had resulted due to my hectic travel schedule and the work that will keep me on my toes for the coming weeks.
But, Muzaffar Ali will be facing a different set of questions when I meet him now. His poetic film on the doomed courtesan Umrao has me far from satisfied. Why is it that I feel justice was not done to the novel Umrao Jaan Ada by Mirza Hadi Ruswa? Why am I not mesmerised by the exploration of the Awadhi lifestyle depicted in the film? Am I the only one to feel the patchiness of the script? Why do I want Umrao Jaan to be recreated by the mastery of Gulzar (this man surely knew how to mold any plain story into a mindblowing experience)?
There are plenty of good things about Umrao Jaan. Rekha, for instance. She is ethereal as the sad courtesan. The role is tailormade for her. She is the only person who stays etched in my mind after Meena Kumari's Pakeezah. She is the sole reason why I finished the film, the tardiness notwithstanding.
Ali gets hold of some of the luminaries of the industry for the film. The costumes are elaborate, the sets are opulent and the setting is true to the times. But, is is only Rekha who surfaces as the sole winner in this film. Farooq Shaikh's Nawab Sultan is tepid, Naseeruddin Shah's Gauhar Mirza is unfleshed and Raj Babbar's Faiz Ali is hardly exploited. He appears like a flash and disappears in the same way. An actor of Babbar's calibre deserves more time. Same with Dina Pathak, Satish Shah, Prema Narayan and a host of other big names. In the loop of getting the biggest talents for his film, Ali lost out on tightening their characters in the film. I kept feeling that Shah and Shaikh were so unused.
Now for the storytelling (pardon me for being ruthless). Ali fails to place the different events into a smooth line. The narrative is jumpy, with plenty of jagged edges. For example, the annexation of Awadh is shown pretty suddenly, without any build-up. Similarly, Umrao's moving from place to place is a tad unclear. Also, how come the other girl who met the same fate as young Amiran (Seema Sathyu) becomes lucky enough to marry Nawab Sultan?
Not all's bad with Umrao Jaan though. There's the heavenly music by Khayyam and the magical lyrics by Shahryar. They breathe life into Umrao's saddened existence. A courtesan by fate, it is her poetry that is her claim to fame on one hand, and reason for downfall on the other. While all the songs (In aankhon ki masti ke and Dil cheez kya aap meri)  are landmarks in terms of Bollywood music, my personal favourite is Yeh kya jagah hain dosto (Asha Bhonsle). It has a haunting value that stays on just like the lost look in Umrao's eyes. Here is a beautiful woman, unlucky in love, who craves for affection but is jilted by fortune. Her childhood was snatched away by two malicious men. Her sullied profession is not of her own doing. But, the world will not forgive her for being a courtesan, of repute or otherwise. She embraces her mother, is eager to shower her love on her younger brother, but are they willing to accept her back? Umrao's future hangs dangerously in mid air. Alone and sad, this Amiran will always remain a desolate soul...
Umrao Jaan is a celebration of Rekha's enormous talent as an actor and a dancer. Amiran blooms into a beautiful and talented courtesan. Her songs and beauty draw the Nawab to her. Her heartbreak at his marriage is so poignantly portrayed by Rekha. Her muted tears and quiet sorrow adds a sublime quality to her personality. And, when she puts music to the beautiful poetry, it's as is the heavens sing aloud with her. No wonder, her cries as well as music reverberate through the walls of her haveli to reach every heart of Awadh. In Umrao, Rekha lives on for eternity...

12 comments:

  1. Much as I love Rekha and agree that she looks stunning in this, I've never been even remotely tempted into watching this. Sad courtesans are usually not my cup of tea, and I've never really been able to appreciate this film's music. Yeh kya jageh hai doston and Zindagi jab bhi teri are the only two songs from this film that I do not mind listening to, and that is probably because they never played over and over on the radio during my childhood!

    Anyhow... I am glad that somebody else agrees that this "classic" isn't all that it's cracked up to be. :D I've seen enough parts of it on TV to feel very strongly that while it's a great showcase for Rekha, it isn't really much else!

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  2. I saw Umrao Jaan when I was a kid, and was 'taken along' to see the film. The nuances of it escaped me, of course, and though I've seen it since (perhaps 10 years ago), I don't remember the details, at least not enough to recall the problems you point out in the screenplay. But I love the songs; my favourite one is Justuju jiski thi: gorgeous!

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  3. Wonderful write-up on a film i am not tempted to watch again. I will rather watch Pakeezah or Shatranj ke... if i want to get a feel of the decadent Awadhi culture of the 19th century.

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  4. @Bollyviewer: I agree with you on the songs. Since In aankhon and Dil cheez kya hain are so opt heard, I'm not fond of them. But Yeh Kya jagan hai dosto is gorgeous. I have this tendency of not liking many songs that many people just love (mostly because they are always heard). Two of them are Jab koi baat bigar jaye (I do not like it for sure) and Hoton se choolon lo tum (I never know why I do not like this). Rekha is brilliant here. But otherwise I do not think Umrao Jaan has much meat.

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  5. @Dustedoff: I sat down to watch Umrao Jaan with loads of expectations but was not happy after finishing it. I had heard so much about it and was quite disappointed to see its patchy make. But Rekha was awesome and so were the songs. Really feel Gulzar should have made the film :)

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  6. @Netdhaba: Yes, watch Pakeezah. It's ethereally everlasting. Umrao Jaan cannot match up to its magical standards. :)

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  7. Wonderful review, Rekha is indeed all that matters in this film and for that reason its an all time classic at least for all her die hard fans

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  8. @Bollywooddeewana: Thank you so much. Yes, Rekha is ethereal in the film. She is the only reason why I stuck around and finished the whole film rather than giving up midway. :)

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  9. Have you read the novel? If you have I do not blame you for your views, likewise I too felt cheated when I saw Shatranj Ke Khiladi. Since I was clueless about the novel I quite liked Umrao Jaan. The songs have a timeless appeal and as you have rightly pointed out Yeh Kya Jageh Hai Doston is a beautiful song. Rekha was very impressive in this film. In a way she deserved the national award. I say in a way because that year the other contender was Jennifer Kendall for 36Chowringee Lane; I confess I was disappointed when Rekha won the award, however after seeing the film I found it difficult to choose between the two actresses.

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  10. @Shilpi: Nopes I haven't read the novel.
    Regarding Jennifer Kendall vs Rekha, I likes both. Now i really have to sit and think who was better...

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  11. is it that lata mangeshkar would have done better to songs instead of ashaji?

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  12. @Anonymous: oh no no no no! Asha Bhonsle is one of the redeeming features in this film. She is unsurpassable!

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