Priyanka has ‘it’ to be the new Umrao Jaan : Bollywood News : ApunKaChoice.Com


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Priyanka has ‘it’ to be the new Umrao Jaan
14th May 2005 22.00 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau

A veteran filmmaker considers that former Miss World Priyanka Chopra has ‘it’ in her to step into Rekha’s shoes and be the new Umrao Jaan.

And that veteran filmmaker is none other than J. P. Dutta who back to business after LoC Kargil .

Dutta is ready to make a new women-centric film which goes back to an era and aura that most thought had been banished by a generation fed only candyfloss and sugarcoated stories.

The project is a brand new rendering of Muzaffar Ali’s classic epic ‘Umrao Jaan’. Interestingly, it will feature Priyanka in the role that Rekha immortalised in the 1981 classic.

On his decision to remake ‘Umrao Jaan’ Dutta says, “After making war films where the boys stole the show and the girls got anxious in the background, I thought it was time to let the women come to the forefront.”

And on his decision to chose Priyanka, Dutta says, “Among the current heroines, I think she has the ‘It’ factor. She’s sensuous, graceful and a very good Kathak dancer. If she watches her steps, the sky’s the limit for her.”

Reports says that initially, Priyanka was jittery about taking on such a complex role, that too one taken to dizzying heights of nostalgic glamour by Rekha.

“But I convinced her that she had it in her. Priyanka is an extremely focused girl. She knows exactly what is right for her. I’ll make sure Priyanka is projected in a way that taps her full potential,” says Dutta.

Dutta hopes to start shooting Umrao Jaan in October. “My father (veteran writer-director O P Dutta) wrote the script 20 years ago. So I’ve been waiting to start ‘Umrao Jaan’ for many years,” he says.

But Dutta insists that Priyanka as Umrao Jaan will be a completely different experience from Rekha because Muzaffar Ali and J P Dutta are different as filmmakers.