Umrao Jaan

Okay, so I bought the original Umrao Jaan starring the amazing Rekha and this one at the same time thinking I'd watch them back-to-back, but it turns out I wasn't in the mood by the time the first one was over. Not because the original was a bad film per se, (check out my review if you want to know more) it's just not a story you want to overload on unless you absolutely need to be sad for a while. Me, I didn't this month, but you never know I might next month.I read once that this is considered Bollywood's worst remake! Now, I believe everyone has the right to their own opinions and there will always be people who consider any actor or actress as "just a pretty face" but I can't imagine why anyone would consider this a bad remake. If you want to see an AWFUL remake try Meg Ryan's version of "The Women." This is a lovely remake, especially because the story has structure, and context, unlike the original script! Because here Umrao is narrating her story to her would-be biographer (in a faithful adaptation to the novel) and thus no dangling loose end for a finale.I flatly refuse to compare the lovely Rekha and the ethereal Miss Rai as actors. They are both artists of great ability and like all artists they each play their characters according to their own perspective, and the direction they're given. My criteria for a good performance hangs on one question... Did the actor or actress make me care about their character in this particular film? I cared about Rekha's Umrao, and I care about Miss Rai's. Both captured the character's most important attributes in their own unique styles. Both triumphed! Originally, this film was offered to both Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor! Now, I'm indifferent to Ms. Chopra, but I AM a fan of Ms. Kapoor-Khan and I SHUDDER to think of either as Umrao! Nobody can replace Rekah, but she does have an heiress and that's Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan.Truth be told there's no lack of talent in this film. I found the supporting characters in this version infinitely more compelling and better defined. Nearly every actor touches you however briefly. Divya Dutta, has been a sentimental favorite of mine and I wish she'd been given more to do in her role as the character had in the original. But the scene stealer by far is the lovely and talented Shabana Azmi, a mercenary with a soft heart who creates a world of fantasy to shield herself and her girls from the hypocrisy and cruelty of the real one. Since I never could resist a bit of trivia it should be noted that her mother originated the role in 1981. I have to say, I think daughter put a lot more charisma and bite in her version, while in the original her mother was a tad more sentimental.Another outstanding performance was Mr. Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Umrao's teacher and surrogate father. He would also portray Miss Rai's father again in Jodhaa Akbar (Three-Disc Collector's Edition). Their shared moments on screen are full of warmth and a bitter-sweet charm.I also appreciated Puru Raaj Kumar as Gohar, a role tragically underdeveloped in the 1981 movie. Here the role is much more brutal but also more tragic. And while Mr. Naseeruddin Shah's Gohar is ultimately written as a weak and opportunistic man. Mr. Kumar's is granted more substance and a chance at redemption for his bad choices.Mr. Sunil Shetty's portrayal as the bandit impersonating a Nawab is certainly more substantial than in the original, but unfortunately he lacks the charm and frankly the sex appeal of Mr. Babbar's portrayal in the original. That said, I liked the fact that they amped up the menacing obsession of his desire, it led to one of the best scenes in the movie.Okay, I swear I'm not writing this next section to be mean. I like Abhishek Bachchan in interviews, I think he's funny, charming, mischievous, and it's obvious that he and his lovely wife have a great relationship in real life! Yet not once has ANY of that translated into any onscreen chemistry!Why oh why, oh why oh why was he cast in this movie! This movie was made the same year the couple made Dhoom 2, and Guru. I keep hearing he did amazing in Guru but I wish he'd done amazing here too! Did he not get the memo that he wasn't playing Jai Dixit? I swear that's who I was seeing! I almost expected him to start wearing sunglasses. To put it bluntly he's a block of ice! No passion, no expression, it looks like he'd rather be at the dentist! He doesn't smile once, not once! Even in his moments of bliss with Umrao he's as stern and stiff as a grouchy teacher. He hits his mark, mouths his dialogue, and sulks. I tell you it's a good thing I knew the romance was doomed beforehand, otherwise I would have been rooting for it to fail.To make matters worse I could think of four actors who would have done that role justice... Arjun Rampel, (give the man a decent script and he can do anything you need) Aamir Khan (why not go for the best? you only live once) Saif Ali Khan (charisma to BURN and a real Nawab playing a reel Nawab) and Kunal Kappor (if anyone LOOKS royal and has access to his passionate side it's him!)No, I didn't want Hrithik Roshan, when he's with Aishwarya Rai on screen they can't break up, PERIOD!In almost all the professional reviews they criticized the script and the length of the film. Now maybe the subtitles of the original version weren't handled properly, but I vehemently disagree. I found the story MUCH easier to follow here. The events were presented within the framework of a narrative, not randomly scattered and thrown in. We got a real ending, and I wasn't left wondering about the fate of randomly disappearing characters. Yes, it's long, but not longer than most Bollywood epics. Does it drag in places? One or two, but not nearly as badly as the original. Could the editing been crisper? Yes. But again it all made sense as a story!The movie is exquisitely styled showing the true lavishness of Royal India and the courtesan world in ways that the original couldn't. The location shots are superb. I'm very picky about cinematography because Indian films have some of the best I've ever seen and I don't accept slouching! The images are gorgeous without being distracting, so kudos!All in all, don't let the original malign you to this movie. See both! ENJOY BOTH! Artists fill the streets of the great cities of the world as they paint famous views that have been immortalized by the masters for generations. More than one of these views has become a masterpiece of more than one artist. It's the same with films. Yes, there are remakes that are awful, and remakes that are neither great or bad, but every once in a while a film will come along and be brilliantly remade twice or more times. Please watch with an open mind.

Hard to find now, but highly recommend!

This movie is a masterpiece. The emotions, the costumes, the music. You can SEE the chemistry between Aishwarya and Abhishek. It makes you feel the love. I watched it a few times, and every time, I thought "Maybe it'll have a happier ending this time" and cried.

I was lead by the ratings, fine actors and description to try this movie. I have been heavily into Bollywood of late.I was disappointed in this one - not because it wasnt well done. It was but my taste, I now find, is more modern. This is more traditionally Indian in its solo female dances, presentation etc. The songs are almost entirely of the female voice and there are none of the group dances I love.The chemistry between Ahbishek and Aishwarya is more powerful than they've often done (was this when they were dating?), and the acting throughout was excellent, yet for me there was a sameness to the movie and I found myself bored.From the other critiques I see this is about my taste and not the movie.So I am just posting this for others like me looking at Bollywood. If your taste is more modern and popular this may not be for you either. If you like traditional and arthouse this may be just the thing you're after -and it is well done.Perhaps I shouldnt have made it the next one to watch after Jodha Akbar which, while having an arty historical feel I found very compelling and memorable. Perhaps that was a hard act to follow.

I was going to watch half this evening and catch the rest tomorrow, but it was the equivalent of a book you can't put down. Visually magnificent (my hearing is quite poor in my old age, so that's mostly what I could appreciate). I now understand why some consider Aishwarya Rai to be the most beautiful woman in the world (and considering how knock-you-down beautiful some Indian actresses are, that's saying something).She (Amiran-Umrao) proves that though sometimes life is full of disappointments, that doesn't mean you have to be one of them yourself; sometimes life is cruel, but that doesn't mean you have to become evil. Maybe the only way you can win sometimes, is to not give in and let the worst things that happen to you determine what you become in your heart.I don't know if it proves that great artists (singers and dancers in this case) have to suffer greatly to become great. Maybe it's like heroes: it takes tragedies to bring them out. The life depicted here is certainly tragic in the classical sense, but there is some kind of noble victory turning it to poetry of word, melody, and motion the way she does instead of "going postal." It's the antithesis of the more common revenge story.This one is a thing of beauty in several big ways. I'll even forgive them for their very one-sided protrayal of British violence in the Sepoy Mutiny (the rebels were at least as guilty of atrocities, and set the mood from the beginning -- plenty of shame and blame all around), but at least that part was short and moved on soon.Bottom line: It is one to mull over and remember.By the way, if the name of the important historical city of "Lucknow" looks odd (as in too British), it's because a truer transliteration of the Hindi would be "Lakhnao."