India, Aug. 14 -- Watching Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan restored by the National Film Archive of India was like taking a peek at a favourite Banarasi saree, one that has carefully folded in mulmul wrap, still fresh with the memory of when you last wore it.

A cinematic classic, the film which returned to theatres 44 years after its original release in 1981, lets the contemporary audience revisit the bygone world of tawaifs in its full complexity. Set in Faizabad and Lucknow of the 1840s, this period drama is about a distinct group of independent women performers who ushered in a unique salon culture during the 18 and 19th centuries. Connoisseurs of the fine life and all its trappings including dazzling jewellery and exquisite silks and broca...