Re-release of 'Umrao Jaan' an emotional catharsis: filmmaker Muzaffar Ali

"UMRAO Jaan" had lost some of its sheen but has come to life in "full flesh and blood" after a restoration, says filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who describes the re-release of the Rekha-starrer period drama as a moment of "emotional catharsis".

- KOMAL PANCHAMATIA

The 1981 movie has been restored and will be re-released in cinemas on June 27. The film has been restored by the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.

"We are bridging relations, generations, gaps, and emotions. This is not a new film. It is a film that your mother has already seen. So, it is an emotional allure that people are going to see it as they have not experienced it on any OTT platform either. It had lost its sheen before it was restored; now it is coming to life in full flesh and blood. It is an emotional catharsis," Ali told PTI in an interview.

Set in the 19th century, the film traces Amiran's (Rekha) arrival in a brothel in Lucknow and her relationships with three key characters played by Farooque Shaikh, Raj Babbar and Naseeruddin Shah.

Ali, who grew up in Lucknow, called "Umrao Jaan" a seminal film that authentically deals with Awadh culture, its angst, and the trials and tribulations of being a woman.

"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.