Umrao Jaan (2006 Film) - Reception

Reception

The film performed poorly at the box office, grossing only Rs.64,900,000. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Many of them reacting unfavourably to J. P. Dutta's direction and the film's three-hour running time, and several cirtics panned it while comparing it to the acclaimed 1981 version by Muzaffar Ali. BBC film critic Poonam Joshi concluded, "J. P. Dutta's film is an Ash-fest that adds little to the legacy of Umrao Jaan." She praised Shabana Azmi's performance as "exemplary" and wrote about Rai, "While only Aishwarya could emulate the grace and poise of Rekha, she doesn't quite capture the intensity of Umrao's abiding melancholy", later commenting that "her incandescent beauty and artistry... does indeed keep the audience watching, though not necessarily emotionally engaged." Describing Rai's performance, Nikhat Kazmi wrote, "she's riveting in places, diligent throughout and tries so hard to recreate a lost world of grandeur that your heart almost goes out to her." while Rediff gave two and half rating out of five and wrote "there is Aishwarya the star, queen and saving grace of Umrao Jaan. She enthralls with her gorgeousness, the precision in her dance movements, elegance in her gestures and sincerity in her willingness to become Umrao Jaan Ada". Susan Muthalaly from The Hindu wrote, "Umrao Jaan remains a spectacle that does nothing for you, personally." She wrote about Rai, "You'd think that since she's playing someone so close to her real life, there would be real feeling in the performance. But remember, this is a realistic performance, so Aishwarya stays true to her real life character and shows no genuine emotion for most of the film. She dances like a dream, but her range of emotions is limited." Another review in The Hindu said, "Umrao Jaan of 2006 would be at best remembered as a poor man's remake of the classic or a love story with a period flavour." The Tribune concluded that "Umrao Jaan fails to impress" and while referring to Rai's performance wrote, "She is no match to Rekha". Seena Menon of Deccan Herald said, "Unfortunately, watching 19th-century Lucknow in the 2006 version of Umrao Jaan gives you nothing but a feeling akin to staring at a glass model of the original." Kathakali Jana from Hindustan Times wrote, "Though comparing the film with the 1981 magnum opus is not fair, what does one do with a baggage of incredible weight? One simply remembers it again and decides to go back to it once more." Similarly, Jana wrote about Rai that she "looks lovely when she smiles. She looks lovelier when she cries. Dutta’s screenplay — which runs into 180 excruciating minutes — allows her to do both in good measure. But where is the celebrated 19th century tawaif of Lucknow whose untold sufferings could do nothing to strip her of her dignity?"

Ziya Us Salam wrote for the same newspaper in a more positive review, "At its soul, body, even content, this Umrao Jaan is as beautiful as its leading lady (Rai), the one who once had the world at her feet." Gullu Singh, another reviewer for Rediff, praised the film for being more loyal to the novel."

Worldwide, the film has grossed $1,371,723, including $485,000 at the US box office.

The music of the film received a warm response, with many praising Alka Yagnik's vocal performance in the album. Yet many critics felt that Anu Malik did not due justice to the Umrao Jaan expectations due to a weak classical performance. Furthermore, purists felt that a singer with a stronger classical backbone was necessary to do justice to the Khayyam and Asha Bhonsle magnum opus.