Rekha’s gun-wielding fans turned up on Umrao Jaan sets, Muzaffar Ali recalls how he made them a part of shoot: Umrao Jaan re-release

In a conversation with SCREEN, at his equally sumptuous villa in Juhu, Ali reflected on what first inspired him to adapt Umrao Jaan Ada, the novel on which his film is based. “My passion has always been Awadh, Lucknow, its people, its culture,” he said. “That’s what I carried with me, even when I was in Calcutta watching Satyajit Ray at work. He was deeply devoted to Bengal, to its spirit. And I knew then, I wanted to do something about Awadh, to tell one of its stories. The idea was always about this girl, set a hundred years ago, yet facing something timeless. Torn from her roots, raised and sold into a kotha. And from there, becoming a creative force in her own right, shaping her own story. That moved me.” He found that story in Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s Umrao Jaan Ada, “a book,” he said, “that truly inspired me.”

Responding to Rekha’s remark in an old BBC Urdu interview, where she humbly claimed she did nothing to deserve the National Award for Umrao Jaan, crediting instead the film’s triumph to the craftsmen and technicians behind it, Ali agreed with her sentiment, yet offered a deeper view. “Of course,” he said, “she had to prepare on many levels. Language, singing, dancing. Yes, there were people to guide her, but she performed beyond expectations.” Expanding on this, Ali reflected, “You see, Rekha understood from the very beginning that this film would matter. She sensed that it would give her a chance to express something deep within her. She honoured that instinct from the first frame. Working with her was a gift, because this film is woven from quiet emotions. And it takes an actor like her to absorb those feelings and translate them onto the screen.”

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Recalling another moment from the shoot, Ali spoke about an incident Farooq Sheikh once recounted, when a group of Rekha’s fans reportedly turned up with guns, eager to catch a glimpse of the shoot in progress. Laughing, Ali said, “It wasn’t as scary as it sounds. But yes, there was a little episode. We were shooting in Malihabad, and some locals, clearly excited, showed up wanting to watch. So I let them in.”

“They were thrilled,” he smiled. “And later, I even cast them in the film. You see, I made them all decoys, using the very same guns they’d brought.” Speaking about Sheikh, whom Ali had earlier directed in his debut film Gaman, he said, “Farooq was a remarkably natural actor. He brought a sense of realism to his roles. He wasn’t like anyone else I could have imagined.”

Farooq Sheikh once recounted an episode from the shooting of Umrao Jaan when Rekha’s fans showed up with guns to watch the filming.

“There was a softness in him,” Ali continued, “an aristocratic grace paired with a subtle sophistication. And yet, nothing about him felt ‘filmy.’ Even in Gaman, he carried a different kind of rawness, windblown, a little lost. In Bombay, people often grow hard. But Farooq held on to his gentleness, that innocence. That’s what I needed in my characters, and he brought it beautifully.” While talking about Sheikh and Rekha, it is impossible not to mention the legendary song “In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke”, which was shot in long takes, as if the camera were soaking in all the grief and romance that hung in the air. Explaining this visual choice, he said, “You have to bring out the meaning of the words, you have to bring out the language of the face, or the story on the face. So I think the face became a very important element; the stories are in the eyes. You have to dwell on that to be able to tell the story. You couldn’t have had a quick, fast-paced film or too many movements. The movements are any way happening within the frame.”

There is also a certain perception among audiences that Umrao Jaan was, even if subconsciously, inspired by Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah. However, Ali denied any such influence, saying, “I don’t think Pakeezah had anything to do with this film. Because, you see, the character has a different look and feel. The film also has a different style. I don’t think you’ll find any frame where you feel it’s inspired by Pakeezah. Except for the fact that this is a courtesan, and that was a courtesan. But that was a very commercial kind of treatment of the subject. In this, the treatment is very individualistic and abstract.”

As the film gears up for a re-release, he shared how the entire cast and crew are planning to come together to watch the film with the audience, to live it all over again and witness its reception now. He also mentioned that the film might be best suited for OTT, as it’s a reflective, mood-driven piece, ideal for personal, intimate viewing. But for now, he’s glad it isn’t on any platform, as that absence has created a thirst among audiences to see it again on the big screen. And as a filmmaker, what more could he ask for, 44 years after its release?