It’s one of the greatest miracles of my life to have found Rekha to play Umrao Jaan

Muzaffar Ali is a man who wears several hats. The filmmaker, designer, author, artist, and a cultural and social activist, Ali made his debut with the feature film Gaman (1978), about a migrant from Uttar Pradesh working as a taxi driver in Mumbai. He followed it up in 1981 with the classic Umrao Jaan, based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s 1899 novel, Umrao Jaan Ada, about the famous Lucknow courtesan and poet. Even subsequently, be it Aagaman (1982), Anjuman (1986) or Jaanisaar (2015), through his films, Ali has kept going back to his roots in Awadh.Umrao Jaan won Rekha her first national award for playing the lead role of Amiran/Umrao Jaan, despite a tough challenge from Jennifer Kendal in Aparna Sen’s 36 Chowringhee Lane. The film also won the national awards for music for Khayyam, female playback singer for Asha Bhonsle for the song Dil Cheez Kya Hai and art direction for Manzur.Ruswa’s novel was adapted for screen yet again years later in 2006 by J.P. Dutta with Aishwarya Rai in the lead.Ali’s Umrao Jaan has now been restored by the National Film Development Corporation and National Film Archive of India under the aegis of National Film Heritage Mission. It will be re-released this Friday, June 27.In a wide-ranging conversation, Ali spoke to about adapting Ruswa’s novel, recreating culturally rich Awadh on screen, casting Rekha in the lead role, her alchemy with the co-stars and the restoration of the film.Excerpts:



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