Aishwarya Rai Vs Rekha: Who Won The Umrao Jaan Box Office Battle

Published : Oct 31, 2025, 04:19 PM IST

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is celebrating her 52nd birthday. Although Aishwarya Rai has given many hit films, on her birthday, we're talking about her film Umrao Jaan. This film was made twice with the same name 

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Umrao Jaan

In the 1981 film Umrao Jaan, Rekha played a brilliant role. The film was well-loved by the audience. Then, 25 years later, another film with the same name was released, starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead role. Let's find out how both these films performed at the box office...

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Umrao Jaan - Rekha

Umrao Jaan, released in 1981, was a period musical drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali. Rekha played the lead role. Based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's 1899 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, this film was the story of a courtesan and poet from Lucknow.

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Budget of Rekha's Umrao Jaan

Director Muzaffar Ali made the film Umrao Jaan on a budget of 50 lakhs. The film performed brilliantly at the box office, collecting 85 to 90 lakhs. The film also starred Farooq Shaikh, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, and Shaukat Kaifi.

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Rekha Award for Umrao Jaan

For the film Umrao Jaan, Rekha received the Best Actress award at the 29th National Film Awards. Additionally, Khayyam won for Best Music Direction, Asha Bhosle for Best Playback Singer, and Manzoor for Best Art Direction.

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Umrao Jaan - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Now, let's talk about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's film Umrao Jaan. This was a 2006 period musical romantic drama film, produced and directed by J.P. Dutta. It was based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, which is the story of a courtesan.

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Umrao Jaan Budget

Director J.P. Dutta made the film Umrao Jaan on a budget of 15 crores. However, the film flopped at the box office, collecting 19 crores. Interestingly, the film was first offered to Priyanka Chopra, but she turned it down due to date issues.

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Star Cast of Film

In Umrao Jaan, Aishwarya Rai starred alongside Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, and Suniel Shetty. Saif Ali Khan was first approached for Abhishek's role but couldn't commit due to a busy schedule.

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