Rekha's 'Umrao Jaan' to screen at Red Sea Film Festival
20 Oct 2025

The iconic 1981 Bollywood film Umrao Jaan, directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha in a National Film Award-winning role, will be screened at the upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival. This is the first time it will be shown outside India after its restoration.

The screening is part of the festival's Treasures strand, which celebrates six classic international and Arab films.

More about the film and other classics
Restoration efforts

Umrao Jaan has been restored by the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.

The film is a poignant tale of a courtesan-poetess in 19th-century Lucknow.

The Red Sea International Film Festival will also feature other classics such as Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, Luc Besson's The Big Blue, and silent films from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy with live accompaniment by Neil Brand.

Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan's films will also be screened
Additional screenings

The Treasures strand will also include two films by Egyptian director Ahmed Badrakhan, Aida (1942) and Song of Hope (1937), both starring the legendary Umm Kulthum.

These films have been restored by the Red Sea Film Foundation and Egypt's Media City.

The fifth edition of the festival will be held from December 4-13 in Jeddah, on Saudi Arabia's eastern shore along the Red Sea.