Umrao Jaan
2006, NR, 150 min.
Directed by J.P. Dutta, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Aishwarya Rai, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan.

Not reviewed at press time. Add this film to the list of new Bollywood films that are receiving day and date international releases, meaning that they are opening simultaneously in the U.S. and India. This one is a remake of a 1981 film, based on a novel by Mirza Haadi Ruswa, about the emotional journey of a young girl who is kidnapped and sold as a courtesan. She grows into a great beauty and acquires deep cultural learning, although she’s terribly unlucky in love.

This article appears in November 3 • 2006.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.