Click to play videoLucknow: As J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan is set to hit the silver screen this Friday, Lucknow is trying to trace the last remains of the 19th century courtesan.
Though not many people know that Umrao Jaan lies buried in what looks like an ordinary passage in the city, flowers have been placed as a tribute to her under a tree there. People claim she lies buried under the concrete, long lost and forgotten.
Not everyone agrees though. "People say she's buried in the Imamwara or Karbala of Azimullah Khan, which is in Talkatora. Some say she's buried in Faizabad, while others say she's buried in Banaras," says a descendant of Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah.
However, those well-versed in the history of Awadh say the 19th century courtesan, first portrayed by Rekha and now Aishwarya Rai, could well be a fictional figure.
Meanwhile, the nawabs of Lucknow are angry with JP Dutta over what they call wrong portrayal of the Awadhi culture in the film.
They are also upset because the site called Karbala, or the holy place of Azimullah Khan, who fought in India's first War of Independence in 1857, hardly finds any mention in tourist guide-books. The place shot into limelight only after the new version of Umrao Jaan was shot there.
Like Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan, J P Dutta's version is also based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's book Umrao Jaan Ada.
While there's no documentary evidence of Ruswa's work, the nawabs of Lucknow are not ready to accept a distorted portrayal of Umrao Jaan's character on the silver screen or neglecting what they call her place of burial.
"Showing Umrao Jaan in a swimming pool romancing the nawab sultan is absolutely degrading," says Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah.
The nawabs claim the filmmakers have minted money, but never bothered to look after the place. If Muzaffar Ali had spent even one per cent of the money he made, Karbala could have been improved," says Nawab Azam Ali Khan.
So, J P Dutta's Umrao Jaan, slated to be released on November 3, may have to face some flak and it will certainly miss the Awadhi ambiance.
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