Umrao Jaan

The first movie in theatre in the USA … ‘Umrao Jaan’. Still not quite American, you see. The multiplex wasn’t of any surprise, like any of those in our metropolitans. $9 ($1 concession for students -:) ). The movie was rather long. The first half specially I feel could have been shortened quite a bit. Overall, it was good. I have not seen the original one, so can’t make any comparison. But I think Aishwarya has done a good job. She looked gorgeous and delicate in the costumes and sets. Abhisek Bachhan, Sunil Shetty, the couple who took care of Umrao and others have played their part well. Sabana Azmi was elegant in her own style. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar was really good and that was an absolute necessity for the movie, umraao jaan being famous for the sher and shayari of Lucknow. Anu Malik has given a music which I think he is not very much used to, it’s in keeping with the mood of the movie. I would recommend that you watch it. However, if you are looking for fun and enjoyment, this is not the movie you should forward to.
By the way, the first two characters in the movie except Umrao Jaan (one who listens to the story of Umrao and the other whom he talks to in the beginning) sounded pathetic. Their dialogues just too mechanical. Who are they?