DUBAI: Bollywood icon Rekha will attend Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival for a screening of Muzaffar Ali’s newly restored 1981 film “Umrao Jaan,” which will be shown outside of India for the first time.
The classic saw the actress win an Indian National Film Award for her performance as a courtesan-poetess in 19th-century Lucknow.
“‘Umrao Jaan’ is intrinsically woven into the very fabric of my soul,” Rekha said in a released statement, reported by Variety. “She is not just a character; she serves as a mirror reflecting the depths of my emotions and dreams. In fact, one could say that she mirrors my soul through the echoes of many lifetimes, portraying a narrative that transcends millions of heartbeats.
“The opportunity for this soulful film to find a new life after 45 years and connect with a fresh audience at the prestigious Red Sea Film Festival is exhilarating and profoundly meaningful. And witnessing an unprecedented moment when a 1981 classic, ‘Umrao Jaan,’ is featured in the festival’s Treasures strand alongside a film by the luminary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is not only a blessing but humbling to the core,” she added.
The film was restored by the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.
The film will screen in the Jeddah festival’s Treasures strand, dedicated to classic international and Arab films. Other movies in the section include Alfred Hitchcock’s 1944 thriller “Spellbound,” “Le Grand Bleu” by Luc Besson and “Silent Spectacular” by Charlie Chaplin, Leo Mccarey, Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline, among other titles.
