'Umrao Jaan' was poetry coming alive: Filmmaker Muzaffar Ali

Nainital, Nov 4 (PTI) For veteran filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, his 1981 masterpiece "Umrao Jaan" was more than a period drama -- it was poetry finding a visual form.

Speaking at the recently concluded 10th edition of the "Himalayan Echoes: Kumaon Festival of Literature & Arts", Ali said with "Umrao Jaan", he was, in essence, telling "the story of a poetess through poetry".

“I was always a poetry-driven person. For me, 'Umrao Jaan' was poetry coming alive. It came from my days after leaving Aligarh, from all the poets I spent time with, and from the imagery they instilled in my thinking and life," said Ali, who has also directed “Gaman”, “Aagaman”, “Anjuman”, and “Jaanisaar”.

To keep the essence of the story intact, he ensured that poet-lyricist Shahryar stayed with him in Mumbai throughout the process. Shahryar was someone who, Ali said, would “think and dream in poetry".

“‘Yeh kya jagah hai doston, yeh kaun sa dayaar hai’ was the starting point. And to this, Shahryar would say, ‘Why are you making me do this women’s poetry?’ And I told him, ‘This women’s poetry is what will stay alive.’ “And that is true. The entire trajectory of Umrao’s character -- from her transformation into a courtesan, her experiences of love and rejection, to her eventual disillusionment and return to her roots -- was a poetic journey,” he added.

Set in the opulent world of 19th-century Lucknow, "Umrao Jaan", based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s Urdu novel, tells the poignant story of a young girl named Amiran from Faizabad, who is kidnapped by her father’s rival and sold to a brothel in Lucknow.

There she is renamed Umrao Jaan and trained in music, dance, and poetry, eventually becoming one of the most celebrated courtesans of her time. The story explores her journey from innocence to fame and the emotional scars that come with it.

The 81-year-old director remains grateful for his collaboration with composer Khayyam and Shahryar, a partnership of music, words, and vision which, he noted, was what breathed life into the very soul of the film.

“Fortunately, we all lived close by. We would walk to each other’s homes, constantly exchanging thoughts and ideas,” he said.

On veteran actor Rekha, who played the titular role, Ali said he always knew she had it in her to bring the iconic character to life.

He also fondly recalled singer Asha Bhosle’s dedication and “extraordinary commitment” towards the project.

“She was ready to sing in a lower scale, wanted me to narrate the entire book to her, and was determined to recreate the world of Lucknow out of Bombay. She was willing to go that extra mile," he recalled.

When asked why he chose to tell the story from a woman’s perspective, Ali explained that women are the true bearers of culture, with a depth of perception men often lack.

“When you narrate a story through a woman, you can’t go wrong. With a man, it’s a hit or miss,” he concluded.

"Umrao Jaan" won four National Film Awards, including best actress for Rekha. The film rereleased in theatres in June this year.

The two-day festival, focused on both literature and nature, was attended by celebrated writer Stephen Alter, Booker-longlisted author Anuradha Roy, Nepali economist Sujeev Shakya, environmentalist Vandana Shiva, and others.

The festival came to a close on Sunday. PTI MG RB RB