Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Indian period musical drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha as the eponymous character.

Based on the 1905 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, the film tells the story of a Lucknow tawaif and poet, and her rise to fame.

Upon release, Umrao Jaan received widespread critical acclaim, specifically for Ali's direction and Rekha's lead performance, widely considered one of the greatest of Hindi cinema.

Dilawar sells Amiran to Khanum Jaan, the madam of a kotha (brothel) in Lucknow who teaches young tawaifs (courtesans).

Umrao relocates to Kanpur, where she establishes herself as a poet and tawaif, but is hunted down by kotha keepers, Gohar Mirza and Husseini, and returned to Lucknow.

[6] The supporting characters were played by Naseeruddin Shah, Farooq Shaikh, Raj Babbar and Bharat Bhushan.

Today, Umrao Jaan is considered at par with other cult classics such as Pakeezah (1972) and is widely acclaimed as one of India's great cinematic magnum opuses.