J. P. Dutta's Umrao Jaan

Another re-make in the pipeline is J. P. Dutta's "Umrao Jaan" starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Shabana Azmi and Sunil Shetty. The music is by Anu Malik.

The earlier classic was directed by Muzaffar Ali (1981) is a cult movie and truly a classic! It had a stellar star cast of Rekha, Farooq Shaikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Shaukat Kaifi Azmi, Raj Babbar. The music was by Khayyam and till date remains one of the most beautiful compositions of all time. This also remains one of Rekha's best performances.

The songs "In Aankhon Ki Masti" and "Dil Cheez Kya Hai" are definitely two of Asha Bhonsle's best renditions ever.

Interestingly, Shabana Azmi plays the role of Khanum Jaan which was essayed by her mother Shaukat Kaifi Azmi in the earlier version.

It would be be a tall order for Aishwarya Rai to pull off a Rekha and it would be a big task for J. P. Dutta to re-create the magic of Umrao Jaan that has been already immortalised on the celluloid by Muzaffar Ali.