"Umrao Jaan" unveils the injustices faced by women and advocates their emancipation. Set in late 19th-century India, the film tells the story of Umrao Jaan, a courtesan and poetess who was kidnapped as a child and sold into the country's prevalent culture of courtesanship. Umrao becomes popular amongst Lucknow's elite, including a nawab, a childhood friend and a dacoit with whom she attempts an escape from her brothel.