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In 2006, Abhisheka Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai starred in a film that turned out to be biggest flop. The director was so devastated that it took him 12 years to bag another project. Published: November 4, 2024 11:31 AM IST By Umrao Jaan Ada is considered one of the finest novels in Urdu literature.
Written by poet and author Mirza Hadi Ruswan, the novel has inspired numerous adaptations in films and television in both India and Pakistan. The most popular adaptation is the 1981 film , starring Rekha and directed by Muzaffar Ali. It is considered one of the classics in Hindi cinema.
In 2006, another adaptation of Umrao Jaan was made featuring Aishwarya as the titular character. Helmed by JP Dutta, the film featured a strong ensemble cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Suniel Shetty, Divya Dutta, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda Made in Rs 15 crore, Umrao Jaan became Aishwarya Rai’s biggest flop. The musical drama didn’t resonate with audiences and managed to earn just Rs 7.
2 crore net in India. JP Dutta, who also made superhit film Border in 1997, was so devasted by Umrao Jaan’s failure that it took him around 12 years to direct another project. He made Paltan in 2018, featuring Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood, Harshvardhan Rane, Sonal Chauhan, and Esha Gupta.
The war drama was rejected by the viewers and flopped at the box office. Before Umrao Jaan’s release, JP Dutta had revealed that not Aishwarya, Priyanka Chopra was the first choice for the film. In an interview with PTI (2005), the director had said, “”I had reached a stage where I had to take a decision.
I wanted to work with Priyanka. I saw her as Umrao Jaan. But we were at a dead end.
” However, in a separate interview, Priyanka Chopra explained she couldn’t do the film because of date issues, “I had great plans about how to play the role. JP saab wanted 90 days of my dates at a stretch which I couldn’t give him. If it didn’t work out, then I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
I can’t brood over what didn’t happen when there’s so much that’s happening.” the actress said. For breaking news and live news updates, like us on or follow us on and .
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