Umrao Jaan
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DVD Reviews of Umrao Jaan
DVD Review: Very Enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
I am not such a fan of Aishwarya, but her performance here is good. I still feel she comes out a little fake here and there, and granted, she can manipulate her eyes as much as technology manipulates the color of them. The worst part of the movie is Abhishek... he plays a very very lame Sultan, never seems to accomplish a genuine facial expression, and for some reason can't stand quite straight showing a hunchback. Shabana Azmi is just spectacular, as always. I am no expert in South Asian music and singing, but I am a musician and I found the music and the singer to be just exquisite! The photography is also outstanding, not to mention the perfect costumes. The dancing performances are good, but for some reason I find Aishwarya to be a little too technical with limited natural grace (I wonder how Madhuri Dixit would have uplifted this character with her limitless grace).
I think the story (without watching Rekha's version) has a strong feminist message in the sense that Shabana's character was able to attain a very powerful position in society as a lonely woman. I know I know it is a brothel, but it is supposed to be a very high-profile one! For the time, the location and the whole setting of the story, the brothel I think represents a way in which women find enourmous power, voice and independence, even more than being a respected wife. At the end, women's arms are strongest around a man's neck right? In the microcosmos of the brothel, women are protected from the cruel oppresion of outside; beautifully explained by Shabana's character. The 'love' aspect is questionnable in real life; if any, it is South Asian society which has proven that infatuation-based love does not persist as much as reason-based relationships such as arranged marriages, and love as a result of time spent together, and not butterflies in the stomach. I think women at the brothel enjoyed of more liberties (artistic preparation, fame, jewels, fine dresses, great standard of living, servitude, and the option of choosing one's sex partner) the trade-off is the reputation of course. Looking at Ameeran's mother, and at Shabana's character, I think Shabana's had a much better life overall.
Good movie, nice slow pace and very very enjoyable experience.
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