He said, “Umrao Jaan was stirring my imagination and hearing voices of that era. Often sounds and silence evoke images and Umrao began to take shape scene by scene, day by day, hour by hour till I realised I could do nothing else. From an emotional doorway I was entering the cinematic and technical way into structuring the film.”

Opening up about the screenplay, the director further added, “Screenplay became a language that would evolve into cinematography, dialogues, music and performance. And then the dynamic art of editing. I found my emotions paying off and each combination of a professional relationship elevating. One and one becoming eleven.”

Fascinated by the Awadhi culture, Muzaffar Ali and his wife Meera Ali also co-founded the House of Kotwara, a couture label that is rooted in heritage, storytelling, and their shared passion to preserve the traditional crafts of Awadh. Interestingly, Rekha’s enigmatic traditional ensembles in the movie were also made by their fashion label.