Rai had two film releases in 2006, J P Dutta's "Umrao Jaan" and Yash Raj Films' "Dhoom 2". The former, an adaptation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's Urdu novel "Umrao Jaan Ada" (1905), tells the story of a doomed courtesan from 19th-century Lucknow. Rai played the titular role, a character famously played by Rekha in the first film adaptation of the novel. Reviewers, while comparing the film to its previous adaptation, were critical of the film as well as of Rai's performance. BBC noted, "While only Aishwarya could emulate the grace and poise of Rekha, she doesn't quite capture the intensity of Umrao's abiding melancholy", adding that "Rai's incandescent beauty and artistry [..] does indeed keep the audience watching, though not necessarily emotionally engaged."