Courtesy:
IndiaFM
Thursday,
September
21,
2006
Isn't
Aishwarya
Rai
looking
simply
stunning
in
this
still
from
JP
Dutta's
magnanimous
opus
Umrao
Jaan.
While
the
general
notion
is
that
JP
Dutta's
film
is
remake
of
Muzzaffar
Ali's
1981
film
by
the
same
name
starring
Rekha,
the
fact
is
not
entirely
true.
Rather
than
a
remake,
JP
Dutta's
film
is
an
adaptation.
Mirza
Muhammad
Hadi
Ruswa
had
originally
written
the
novel
by
the
title
of
UMRA-O-JAAN-E-ADA
in
the
19th
century.
This
novel
is
one
of
the
foremost
literatures
in
Urdu
and
was
published
in
the
year
1899
by
Mahadeo
Prasad,
Publishers
of
Lucknow.
Ever
since
then
the
novel
has
a
quality
that
has
inspired
many
generations
of
film-makers
to
recreate
the
enigmatic
character
of
Umrao
Jaan.
And
interestingly
neither
Muzzaffar
Ali's
nor
JP
Dutta's
version
is
the
first
cinematic
adaptation
of
the
classic
literature.
Other
films
already
made
on
the
novel
include
Zindagi
Aur
Toofan
and
Mehendi.
More
interestingly
even
before
these
films,
someone
else
had
started
making
a
film
on
this
novel.
And
the
person
was
none
other
than
OP
Dutta,
father
of
JP
Dutta.
In
the
50's,
O.P.Dutta
was
the
first
person
to
start
a
film
on
Umrao
Jaan
starring
the
then
popular
actress
Nimmi.
Unfortunately
that
film
could
not
be
completed.
So
in
a
way
by
making
this
film
J
P
Dutta
has
lived
his
father's
dream.