“Abhishek is very clued-in,” said Aishwarya Rai at the Music Launch of her Big Ticket Period extravaganza ‘Umrao Jaan’ in a plush Mumbai hotel.

 It was after a long wait of eight months that Ash was coming before the Media Bazaar. Dressed in a creamy-white-golden saree, she looked svelte in that Dhoom physique and Nakshatra Diamond smile.

Abhishek’s absence was more than made up by his illustrious Dad Amitabh Bachchan who graced the occasion with élan. And as the ‘Kajra Re’ duo hugged warmly, the shutterbugs went in a dizzy….One more….They screamed….

So guys, if you are reading all this in a management school in Australia or UK and are a super Hindi filmi buff, then I can safely say…All this Jhakaas Nights happen only in Mumbai. The city rocks. In spite of every thing. Well, talking about the night of music and classical tastes, ‘Umrao Jaan’ is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. And considering it’s trying to match the sheen of Muzaffar Ali’s classic a good twenty five years ago, all eyes-n-ears are eager to dole out their bit of criticism-n-praise.

 Lemme give you the dope on the who’s-who present that eventful night. Well, apart from AB Senior and Ash (They unconsciously competed with who gets more flashbulbs), there was loudmouthed director J P Dutta (Dude, chill a bit, why do you have to take yourself so seriously), his wife actress of yesteryears Bindiya Goswami, Shabana Azmi (Looking lovely in a peacock colour saree…But alas she just couldn’t handle the cameras hogging Ash while she was left with a stray limelight on her face in the grim night), Lyricist Javed Akhtar (Jovial as ever), Lata Mangeshkar (She preferred to keep quiet but her presence is terrific), volatile music composer Anu Malik (Must say, the guy is a paragon of positive energy), the managing director of T-Series Bhushan Kumar (Take my word, this success story is very humble…I literally bumped into him unconsciously…But he just smiled back without a trace of indignation) and dress designer Anna Singh (Her costumes are gorgeous but she seemed to be in a bad mood that day). One could also trace Divya Dutta, Puru Raj Kumar, Alka Yagnik and Parikshit Sahni other than a deluge of media force.

The promos of ‘Umrao Jaan’ were shown on a big screen while the set by Bijon Dasgupta specially created in the Hotel premises were Grand. Now, it would be improper to compare the two ‘Umrao Jaan’s’. For they represent two different generations and mindsets. As for the music of the film, when you compare it with the present lot, it’s most certainly original. The semi classical raag based songs soulfully sung by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam do evoke curiosity and interest. It remains to be seen whether it manages to withstand the passage of time that the earlier version so successfully achieved.

‘Umrao Jaan’ may just steal the thunder from ‘Don’ and ‘Jaaneman’ due to the super chemistry between Ash and Aby Baby. It’s time to wait and watch.