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Shabana Azmi, Suniel Shetty, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda ... see more see more... , Himani Shivpuri , Ayesha Jhulka , Divya Dutta , Puru Raj Kumar , Parikshit Sahni , Maya Alagh , Vishwajeet Pradhan , Javed Khan , Bikram Saluja , Bansree Madhani , Alka Yagnik , Puru Rajkumar , Sunil Shetty

A young courtesan kidnapped from her home and sold into slavery ultimately transcends her grim fate in director J.P. Dutta's adaptation of author Mirza Haadi Ruswa's classic 1905 novel. Previously ada... read more read more...pted for the screen to great acclaim in 1981, Ruswa's novel tells the story of a middle class girl kidnapped by a habitual offender who had been imprisoned for ten years as a result of her father's damning testimony. Determined to curse his accuser with a fate worse than death, the vengeful ex-convict spirited the man's daughter away and sold the young girl - then known as Amiran - to a brothel in Lucknow. Subsequently given the name Umrao, raised in the lap of luxury, and trained to be a great entertainer, the young girl would grow up to become one of the most beautiful and popular entertainers of her time. Yet despite all of her success, something was missing in the life of the girl now known as Umrao. Though fortune seemed to smile down on her against all odds, Umrao soon fell in love with the powerful Nawab Sultan and longed to start a family with the influential figure despite the fact that their love seemed doomed from the onset. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

4,927 ratings

Unrated, 3 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: J.P. Dutta

Release Date: November 3, 2006

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DVD Release Date: January 23, 2007

Stats: 320 reviews

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Aishwarya Rai & Shabana Azmi Umrao Jaan Aishwarya Rai Umrao Jaan Umrao Jaan Aishwarya Rai Umrao Jaan Aish and Abhishek Aishwarya Rai
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Flixster Reviews (320)

  • binky013
    March 29, 2008
    binky013
    With sincere apologies to all my flixster friends who are huge Bollywood fans . . .

    Walter, I say, with great guilt, that I could not bear another syllable of this one. Not another frame, not another cut, not another jot, not another iota.

    In fairness to me, I have been o

    ... read moren an all-Bollywood, all-the-time crusade recently, so you'll see how highly, if you check my history of reviews, I've rated some BW product.

    Seriously, Walter, I was climbing the walls a few minutes into this one.

    I'm sure, because I'm a long-time flixster supporter to the bitter end, upholding the flixsterian democratic ideal that we are all entitled to our own opinions, no matter how narrow and inflexible they may be, that this one will most assuredly get big star ratings from other flixsters -- just not from me.

    It's another one, Walter, for our list.

    Please feel free to label me old, insensitive, and unbending, if you will, but I tried. I truly gave it the "old college" try. Just as with tripe like so-so Blue, or actually decent White -- the best one in a threesome of not-often-under-gushed-about fodder --, and seriously-most-disappointing and wholly vacuous color-trio buddy Red.

    I really, really, really tried, Walter. But, as you know even way up there in the far East-North, time is precious, and life is short.

    I mean it: long live GOOD Bollywood.
  • ileo
    December 26, 2007
    ileo
    An amazing movie! Loved it! Brought tears to my eyes.
  • Catieliz
    October 1, 2010
    Catieliz
    Very good movies, it is a bit of a sad story. The fate of women in 19th century any where in the world was not the best. They were seen as the property of their father or other men. To be in charge of own destiny and monies they went to brothels. Still there they belonged to ... read moreusually an older woman in charge of the brothel, until maybe they got their own establishment. Still they were used by men. Good but sad movie. Pretty costumes, and dancing.
  • missbuymeadrink
    April 6, 2007
    missbuymeadrink
    this one is alright, i list it only because i love me some abhishek bachchan. :: sigh:: can i be torey jaan? (beloved)

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Critic Reviews

Derek Elley
December 1, 2006
Derek Elley, Variety

Demands more patience than usual mainstream Hindi fare but rewards the viewer with fine perfs and a story that engages emotionally over the three-hour span. Full Review

Ethan Alter
November 13, 2006
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International

This story has all the hallmarks of a grand tragedy, but under J.P. Dutta's leaden direction, Umrao Jaan never registers a pulse. Full Review

David Chute
November 9, 2006
David Chute, L.A. Weekly

At three and a half hours, J.P. Dutta's lugubrious period melodrama Umrao Jaan defeated me. It feels endless. Full Review

Andy Webster
April 21, 2007
Andy Webster, New York Times

No review available.

November 11, 2006
BBC

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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