''Umrao Jaan Ada'' ( ur, امراؤ جان ادا) is a 1972 Pakistani

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

loosely based on the novel of the same name by

Mirza Hadi Ruswa Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa (1857 – 21 October 1931) was an Indian Urdu poet and writer of fiction, plays, and treatises (mainly on religion, philosophy, and astronomy). He served on the Nawab of Awadh's advisory board on language matters for ...

and directed by

Hassan Tariq Hassan Tariq (22 October 1934 – 24 April 1982) was a Pakistani film director, film producer and screenwriter who was famous for making films like Anjuman, Kaneez, Baharo Phool Barsao, ''Dewar Bhabhi''. Early life and career Hassan was born ...

with lyrics and screenplay by

Saifuddin Saif Saifuddin Saif (20 July 1922 12 July 1993) was a Pakistani lyricist, poet, film producer-director, and the founder of Rehnuma Films, a film studio of 1954. He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the Partition. However, ...

Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

played the titular role in the film opposite

Shahid ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

while Zmurrud, Aasia,

Nayyar Sultana Nayyar Sultana (born Tayyaba Bano; 1937 – 27 October 1992), sometimes referred to in Pakistan as ''Malka-i-Jazbaat'' (Queen of Sentiments), was a Pakistani film actress. She became one of the foremost screen actresses of Lollywood in the 1 ...

, Rnageela and Allauddin appeared in supporting roles. It revolves around the entire life journey of a

tawaif A ''tawaif'' was a highly successful entertainer who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal Empire, Mughal era. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, and the Urdu l ...

from

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and her tragic romance with a

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

. The film was a golden jubilee hit a Box office.

Lok Virsa Museum Heritage Museum ( ur, ), also known as Lok Virsa Museum is a museum administered and managed by Lok Virsa - National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage. It is a museum of history and culture in Islamabad, Pakistan, located on the Shakarpa ...

screened the film in 2017 as part of special showcase of the feature films in the country.

Plot

Umrao Jaan is born as Amiran' to a modest family in

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corpor ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. After the criminal Dilawar Khan is released from jail he decides to get revenge as her father had earlier testified against him in court. Khan kidnaps Amiran and decides to sell her in Lucknow. She is imprisoned with another girl, Ram Dai, but the two are separated when Dilawar Khan takes her to Lucknow. There she is sold for 150

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

s to Khanum Jaan, the head ''

'' of a '' kotha''. She is renamed Umrao and begins to study

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. Together with the other apprentice ''tawaif'' and Gauhar Mirza, the mischievous illegitimate son of a local Nawab, she is taught to read and write in both Urdu and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. As Umrao grows up, she is surrounded by a culture of luxury, music and poetry. She eventually gains her first client, (earning her the suffix of ''jaan'') but prefers the impoverished Gauhar Mirza, as her friend. Umrao Jaan attracts the handsome and wealthy Nawab Sultan. The couple fall in love, but after a jealous customer tries to start a fight with Nawab Sultan, he shoots him and the jealous customer Zabardast Khan dies. He no longer comes to the ''kotha'' and Umrao Jaan must meet him secretly, by the help of Gauhar Mirza. As Umrao Jaan continues to see Nawab Sultan and also serve other clients, she supports Gauhar Mirza with her earnings. A new client, the mysterious Faiz Ali, showers Umrao Jaan with jewels and gold, but warns her not to tell anyone about his gifts. When he invites her to travel to

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

, Khanum Jaan refuses, so Umrao Jaan had to run away. On the way to Farrukhabad, they are attacked by soldiers and Umrao Jaan discovers that Faiz is a

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquia ...

and all of his gifts have been stolen goods. Faiz Ali escapes with his brother Fazl Ali and she is imprisoned, but luckily one of the ''tawaif'' from Khanum Jaan's ''kotha'' is in the service of the Raja whose soldiers arrested her so Umrao Jaan is freed. As soon as she leaves the Raja's court, Faiz Ali finds her and gets her to come with him. He is soon captured and Umrao Jaan, reluctant to return to Khanum Jaan, sets up as a ''tawaif'' in

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

. While she is performing in the house of a kindly

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

, armed bandits led by Fazl Ali try to rob the house, but leave when they see that Umrao Jaan is working there. Then Gauhar Mirza comes to

and she decides to return to the ''kotha''. Umrao Jaan performs at the court of

Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...

until the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...

forces her to flee the city for Faizabad. There she finds her mother, but is threatened by her brother who considers her a disgrace and believes she would be better off dead. Devastated, Umrao Jaan returns to Lucknow now that the

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

is over. She meets the Begum from Kanpur again in Lucknow and discovers that she is actually Ram Dai. By a strange twist of fate Ram Dai was sold to the mother of Nawab Sultan and the two are now married. Another ghost of Umrao Jaan's past is put to rest when Dilawar Khan is arrested and hung for robbery. With her earnings and the gold that Faiz Ali gave her, she is able to live comfortably and eventually retires from her life as a ''tawaif''.

Cast

* Zumurrud * Aasia *

Mumtaz Mumtaz ( ar, ممتاز) is a name commonly used in various countries in the Muslim world, mainly Afghanistan, Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey. It can also be used as a female name. ''Mumtazah'' is a related female versio ...

Saeed Khan Rangeela Mohammad Saeed Khan (1 January 1937 – 24 May 2005), better known as Rangeela, was a Pakistani Lollywood actor, singer and director. He is regarded as one of the finest comedians of the Pakistani film industry. He performed in over 300 film ...

* Lehri * Ladla * Imdad Hussain *

Music

* "Kaatay Na Katay Ratya Sayyan Intezar Ki" Sung by

Runa Laila Runa Laila ( bn, রুনা লায়লা, ur, ; born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in Pakistan film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani p ...

, lyrics by

and music of

Nisar Bazmi Nisar Bazmi (1 December 1924 – 22 March 2007) was a composer and music director of Indian and Pakistan film industry.

film Umrao Jaan Ada (1972) song on YouTube
Retrieved 23 December 2018 * "Aakhri Geet Sunanay Kay Liyay Aaey Hain" Sung by

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

, lyrics by Saifuddin Saif and music of Nisar Bazmi.

Box office

The film was a golden jubilee hit at box office.

References

External links

Umrao Jaan Ada's film song on yahoo.com website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umrao Jaan Ada (film) 1972 films 1970s Urdu-language films Films based on Indian novels Pakistani romantic drama films Films scored by Nisar Bazmi