Re-release of 'Umrao Jaan' an emotional catharsis: Filmmaker Muzaffar Ali
"My challenge was to present Awadh the way (Satyajit) Ray was presenting his Bengal, and there was nobody to present Awadh in that sense so I took it upon myself to present a truthful slice of reality of Awadh.
"It's a challenge to bring all those elements into the fold of cinematic expression with the same kind of intensity, force and authenticity, Ali, who has also directed Gaman, Aagaman, Anjuman and Jaanisaar said.
An adaptation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's historical 1899 novel, Umrao Jaan Adaa, the film garnered wide acclaim for its nuanced storytelling, songs and performance by Rekha, who earned her first National Award for her portrayal of Amiran.
The film also won the National Award for Best Music Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Female Playback Singer as well as three Filmfare awards.
"I'm proud of every moment of the film. When I chose to do the film. From the choice of Rekha to the music, everything is kind of memorable. It's all integrated into one cohesive emotional experience," he said.
Despite being an adaptation, "Umrao Jaan" carries a lot of Ali's interpretations of Lucknow's culture and ethos.
It had to be my experience, it had to be what I lived through, it had to be what the walls had spoken to me, what clothes meant to me, it had to be what feelings, festivals and art meant to me.
I had to find parallels between the book and my own experience of Lucknow, the culture of Lucknow, the ethos, and my understanding, Ali added.
Rekha had previously portrayed courtesans in films like Suhaag and Mukaddar Ka Sikandar, but Ali said he wanted to explore a different facet of her talent.
He aimed to depict her character as a nuanced human being rather than just a glamorous figure.
It (roles in 'Suhaag', and 'Mukaddar') was a kind of traditional courtesan that has been appearing in Bollywood.
Here (in 'Umrao Jaan'), I wanted people to look at her as a human being, as a vulnerable person, the director said, adding that he simply wanted Rekha to drown herself in the character.
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Rekha and Farooq Sheikh in Umrao Jaan. (HT Photo) What makes Umrao Jaan beautifully distinct is its near tactile quality with the evocation of historical elements like a gentle silken pashmina draped around the neck never poking the skin. It can be interpreted as a romantic film, a musical about a woman's quest for dignity, a tale about heartbreak, all of which are intertwined strands much like Umrao's beautiful silk parandis onscreen. A cinema of loss, longing, and introspection, it has the protagonist asking the big question, 'Who Am I?' even as she faces a string of harsh life situations. The many poignant scenes with Umrao looking into the mirror transforms the mirror itself from mere prop to vital metaphor. Muzaffar Ali's direction presents the historical moment and the unique ethos of the courtesan's world without overtly glamourising or underplaying it (as in the recent HeeraMandi). 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Muzaffar Ali, director of Umrao Jaan (Gokul VS/Hindustan Times) Faiz Ali creates a beautiful twist in the storyline towards the end. Unlike the other men in her life, he accepts Umrao for who she is, a powerful woman. In his company, she is at her gutsy best. His brief presence in her life turns her towards reinventing herself as she walks away from the Lucknow kotha. For the contemporary viewer, Umrao's story is 'modern' and the film's logline could read: 'a successful woman, baffled by existential questions, tries to find herself as she navigates the world'. This is not far off the mark. Ali used elements of love and loss but adds the angle of introspection to open the narrative to more than one generation. This means Umrao Jaan transcends the labels of historical drama or tawaif film. The exploration of her search for identity and her evident dignity helps Umrao's character emerge as a sensitive, emotionally mature and creatively accomplished woman who is not just an 'object of desire' like Zohra in Muqqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) or so many other depictions of tawaifs as mere gaane,bajanewalis. Pertinently, the pejorative term was coined by the colonial administration to maintain their civic tax ledgers and is a perverse interpretation of salon culture. Viewed almost four-and-a-half decades after it was made, Umrao Jaan remains as fresh as ever. Nilosree Biswas is an author, filmmaker, columnist who writes about history, culture, food and cinema of South Asia, Asia and its diaspora.
