She is kidnapped from her home in Faizabad by Dilawar Khan (Vishwajeet Pradhan) who had been sent to jail years before upon evidence presented by Ameeran's father.

The girl grows into an elegant, poetic beauty by the name of Umrao Jaan (Aishwarya Rai), who catches the eye of Nawab Sultan Khan (Abhishek Bachchan).

Though Nawab Sultan's wealth grants him exclusivity to Umrao, he expresses suspicion that she may still offer her charms to other men, an accusation she detests.

Umrao is crushed but refrains from begging Nawab to believe her, remembering that he had once vowed to never insult her with accusations of infidelity and feeling that his broken promise has destroyed their love anyway.

As she grapples with this grief, her childhood friend Gauhar Mirza (Puru Raaj Kumar), who had always lusted for her, reacts violently to her rejection and rapes her.

Priyanka Chopra was considered to play the part of Umrao Jaan, but could not allot the ninety consecutive dates required for shooting due to her prior commitments in Bluffmaster!

[8] Arshad Warsi was to star in the film as Gauhar Mirza, but dropped out soon after as he chose to appear in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006).

The full album is recorded by Alka Yagnik, Anmol Malik, Richa Sharma and Sonu Nigam, and was released on T-Series label.

"[16] Describing Rai's performance, Nikhat Kazmi wrote, "she's riveting in places, diligent throughout and tries so hard to recreate a lost world of grandeur that your heart almost goes out to her."

"[19] Another review in The Hindu said, "Umrao Jaan of 2006 would be at best remembered as a poor man's remake of a classic or a love story with a period flavour.

"[20] The Tribune concluded that "Umrao Jaan fails to impress" and while referring to Rai's performance wrote, "She is no match to Rekha".

[21] Seena Menon of Deccan Herald said, "Unfortunately, watching 19th-century Lucknow in the 2006 version of Umrao Jaan gives you nothing but a feeling akin to staring at a glass model of the original.

"[22] Kathakali Jana from Hindustan Times wrote, "Though comparing the film with the 1981 magnum opus is not fair, what does one do with a baggage of incredible weight?

"[23] Ziya Us Salam wrote for the same newspaper in a more positive review, "At its soul, body, even content, this Umrao Jaan is as beautiful as its leading lady (Rai), the one who once had the world at her feet.