Mumbai: Director JP Dutta's promise to his father two-decades ago led him to make his version of Umrao Jaan. But he is not the only one, stepping into his parent's shoes. Taking forward the legacy of her mother, Shabana Azmi will essay the role of Khanum Jaan - the strong-minded and manipulative keeper of a high-class brothel played by her mother Shaukat Kaifi in 1980, and now by her in the film.
"This has never happened before that a daughter plays a role that her mother has essayed in the past,” Shabana said at the music launch of the film.
Mirza Hadi Ruswa's 19th century literary work was first adapted on-screen by Muzaffar Ali in 1980’s Umrao Jaan where Shaukat played Khanum Jaan with great élan. “To do justice to my role, I read the novel Umrao Jaan Ada over 10 times," said Shabana’s mother and yesteryear’s actor Shaukat Azmi.
“My daughter is a good actress. And though I have not seen the film as yet, I am sure she has played this role well. Better than me, who knows?” she added.
So has the daughter been able to impress her mother?
“I have not been able to impress her. In fact my mother does not gives out her opinion easily. But I have tried my best to get into the skin of the character to make sure that I don’t disappoint her,” said Shabana.
If there was one thing Shaukat wanted the filmmakers to be careful about in this re-adaptation, it was the authenticity of the costumes.
"At that time, we had borrowed the costumes from real-life nawabs to give life to the entire scene. I had wanted Shabana to wear similar costumes, which looked authentic and matched with story’s true setting," said Shaukat.
With Rs 8 crore spent on the costumes alone, Shaukat shouldn't have any complaints.
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