Will Umrao Jaan Bring Back The Audience?

Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan returns to  movie theatres  44 years  after release. There  doesn’t seem to be   much  interest in the project. The Kotha culture which  this exquisite film embraces is no more  of interest to moviegoers.

1981 was the year of realistic cinema, with Smita Patil in Marathi and Hindi in Jabber Patel’s Subah,  Saritha in K. Balachander’s  Tamil Thaneer Thaneer and Jennifer Kendal in36 Chowringhee Lane, pulling out all stops.

But Rekha as Umrao Jaan was extra-special.She proved she was the Chosen One. Umrao Jaan was the story of a restless woman whose wandering soul  takes her through warm and robust relationships with a  bashful Nawab(Farooq Shaikh), her childhood  friend and admirer(Naseeruddin Shah) and a long-haired dacoit(Raj Babbar).

There’s a touch of dangerous poetry in the  presentation, as though underneath all the posturings of decorum  these characters are hungering for the same primeval satisfaction that  less refined men and women express in  a far more direct and sexual language.

The beautifully crafted story begins  and  ends with a song. In the beginning we see the child Umrao  frolicking to the sounds of the traditional  Bidaai song Kahey ko biyahi bides. The child is then abducted and trained to be a sophisticated tawaif.

At the end Umrao is back at her long-lost home revisiting  her childhood memories through the song Yeh kya jagah hai doston? Song and music have  always been considered an integral part of Hindi cinema. Never have they been more integral than in Umrao Jaan.  The lyrics, tunes and Asha Bhosle’s supple singing  carry the courtly tale to great  heights of expression.

Rightfully Khayyam  and Asha Bhosle won National awards for their efforts.  So did Rekha, controversially  beating Jennifer Kapoor ‘s poignant  performance in Aparna Sen’s 36 Chowringhee Lane to the honour. Umrao Jaan remains Rekha’s Mother India.She’ll always be recognized  and  wah-wahed for this role rather than any other. Not that she has anything else  remotely comparable with Umrao Jaan in her repertoire.

Interestingly during the same year as  Umrao Jaan Rekha was  also  seen in Yash Chopra’s Silsila as  the  elusive, enigmatic, oldworld beauty  searching for love .