Begum Jaan, directed by Srijit Mukherji, is the Hindi remake of the Bengali movie 'Rajkahini' starring Rituparna Sengupta. Vidya’s much awaited film finally made it to the theaters on Friday, much to the delight of her fans.
Genre :- Drama.
Run-time :- 2 hrs 14 mins.
Cast :- Vidya Balan, Rajit Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Naseerudin Shah, Ashish Vidyarthi, Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda.
Director :- Srijit Mukherji.
Plot – The year is 1947. India is going to be partitioned according to the Radcliff Line. That line runs through a brothel owned by Begum Jaan (Vidya Balan). Nearly everyone is happy that India’s getting independence, except her. And why should she be happy? Her palace (That's what she prefers to call it) would be destructed in the whole process. What lengths would she go to protect it? Or will she succumb to the snarly politics going around in the country?
Direction and Screenplay :-
Begum Jaan begins with one of the many hard hitting opening scenes I've seen in a long time. Set at Connaught Place in 2016, it is under the same framework of the Nirbhaya incident. It's painful, and gives you quite the jolt. Later it cuts to 1947, when independence came to India at the cost of Partition and proceeds further.
National Award winning film-maker Srijit Mukherji, who makes his Bollywood debut with Begum Jaan, fails to achieve finesse in technicalities which was required out of a movie that is packed with stellar performances and a taut script. For example, two officers – Hari Prasad Srivastav (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Ilias (Rajit Kapoor), former best friends, who have been divided by the Indo-Pak Partition - in charge of executing the Radcliff Line, meet each other after a long time. Before the scene could make an impression, Mukherji films it in a wide-shot with the two men at the extreme ends of the frame, with EXACTLY HALF their faces visible. He keeps alternating between the actors’ solo shots, needlessly distracting us, drawing attention to craft. And we get the intention – partitioned face, as in part of a whole, in a film focusing on Partition. It is so obvious. But no, he is unsure and repeats it later in the film, in a different scene with the same actors. Why oh why?!
Vidya as Begum dives into the skin of the character and swims effortlessly through it. Vidya’s Begum is a hookah-snorting, razor-tongued woman with an authoritarian air, she is the master of her fate and fortune. From Gujarati to Bengali to Awadhi to Punjabi, her brothel has women of every caste, language and religion. She (Vidya) usually grabs attention in all her movies. But this movie has all of its actors performing to the fullest and it's hard to point out who is better than the other. Also, the very idea of the characters explaining things to the audience under the pretext of talking to each other is fresh and commendable.
Editing and Cinematography:-
Editing by Praveen Prabhakar could've been better. With abrupt cuts and switches, it seems like a ride filled with more than few speed-breakers.
The visual-palette of the film by Cinematographer Goopi Bhagat is like a series of Raghu Rai photographs drained off their magic partly but manage to adjust to the required tone of the film. Certain shot-taking choices such as slow motions, rain sequences, climax are supremely mastered and served by him.
Music:
This is one of the many movies which didn't require songs interrupting the smooth narrative. But speaking of the album, each of the tracks is a treasure.
Anu Malik has managed to create magic by creating beautiful songs by bringing together the best of the bests to lend their voice. “Prem Mein Tohre” and “Woh Subah” are the best of the lot.
The latter which is a recreation of the classic composed by Khayyam and lyrics by the legendary poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, speaks for the film in Shreya-Arjit’s voice.
With the former, Prem Me Tohre, sung by the supremely talented Asha Bhosle, the lost art of making soulful renditions about love and its sheer power seems to be back. Thank you, Anu Malik - the man who gave us unforgettable music albums in the ‘90s.
“Holi Khelein” is perfectly orchestrated and sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Anmol Malik wheras “Azaadiyan” by Sonu Nigam gives a very expected ‘LOC Kargil’ feel. Lastly, the stunning lyrics from “O Re Kahero” will leave you speechless and moved.
The Highs -
▶ There's a strong gasp-worthy scene when a new girl is brought to the brothel and she is in a state of complete shock. She has stopped responding to anything — until Begum slaps her out of her stupor and she has a cathartic breakdown.
▶ The strongest parts of the movie are its script and dialogues. The narrative is layered and the dialogues are powerful. The performances are each better than the other.
▶ Begum was of the opinion that it doesn't matter if the country gets independence or not, for women will always remain oppressed, unsafe and treated inferior to men. Well, not everything she felt was untrue. After 70 years of Independence, women are still fighting for equal human rights. *sighs* And Srijit manages to depict this, in the most powerful manner in the first 5 minutes. With an unfortunate incident occurring in Delhi of 2016, the Tricolor plays a silent spectator at the back. It hits hard at your soul. And for a moment, you can’t move.
▶ The usage of cuss words and terms which are derogatory or “gandi baatein” in the eyes of the society are effortlessly used and woven into the narrative without hindering the film viewing experience. Also, slapping certain issues which have been too sensitive for the Indian audiences till date, without wrapping it under a velvet cloth is both daring and commendable.
▶ Also, a round of applause for the Censor Board too, please, for they have allowed the film to run with hardly any cuts but just some alterations in few words.
The Lows -
▶ Sometimes, the girls come across as extremely inept and ineffectual, their lingo and accents is particularly labored, the body language seems too designed and deliberate.
▶ Mukherji struggles in sustaining a mood, often disrupting the film’s flow with needless songs. There’s a song on Holi, a song when Indians and Pakistanis cross the border, a song when a local king (Naseeruddin Shah) visits the brothel. Mukherji, it seems, is constantly trying to hammer home a point, forbidding us to create our own meanings. It’s 2017, and we want our filmmakers to, at least now, stop handholding their audiences, stop guiding them where to look, what to listen to. Don’t they find us intelligent enough to have figured that out after two hours of viewing time!
▶ There is a love scene between Gauahar and Pitobash, wherein the latter confesses his “lub” for the lady, in a cute and innocent manner. This scene, till a point, is both heartfelt and funny, but Mukherji keeps stretching it, making it loud and obvious, and ultimately dilutes its emotional heft.
▶ Some of the crudity in dialogue and scenes seem deliberately aimed at sensationalizing, eliciting wolf-whistles from the male audience rather than being sensitive to women.
Performances:-
▶ From the unibrow to the contact lens, Vidya is perfection as the Begum. Not only is Balan here privileged with the punchiest of quotations and the most decisive of actions, even the horizon dissolves into her thinking face. There are two sides of Begum’s personality. One is the self-important side, who when she talks, seems to be reading out from her own resume. And then there is the Begum who wonders about the changing realities around her, and who can feel the earth beneath her feet slipping by. And Vidya Balan nails it with a puissant performance. A scene between her and Shah towards the end proves her mettle as a well experienced actor when she emotes just with her eyes.
▶ Pallavi Sharda as the vulnerable Gulabo, among the sex workers at the brothel with a traumatic past — doesn't get enough screen time but manages to strike a cord with her performance oozing fortitude.
▶ Look who's back. Back again. It's Chunky Pandey and he isn't joking this time. He plays the polar opposite of the roles he's been seen in so far, as the the antagonist here who the government appoints to get the brothel uninhabited. He's promising as the ruthless lad who finds the worst possible ways to inflict pain on poor Begum and her girls. *Applauds*
▶ Rajit Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi, as two friends united by heart but divided by boundaries, have a long-lasting impact on your being and the changes in their personal relationship due to the changes in the political environment is one of the highs of the film. Their character development gradually helps in making the narrative strong.
▶ Naseerudin Shah as Rajaji, has been provided with an understated role but he does fine. His character bows down to his own era and has more charm than the spirited fights of the other characters.
▶ Gauahar Khan as Rubina stands out in the sea of other characters playing sex-workers, probably because she has been given impressive dialogues and a lot more screentime than other ladies. Her Punjabi accent seems boisterous after a while. Trying too hard, eh? But she manages to cover that up with her dialogue delivery in a scene with her love-interest alongside a river.
▶ Supporting cast consisting of Flora Saini as Maina, Priyanka Setia as Jameela, Ridhima Tiwari as Amba, Raviza Chauhan as Lata, Poonam Rajput as Rani and Sumit Nijhawan as Salim justify their roles.
▶ Gracy Goswami (Nimboli from Balika Vadhu) as Laadli aces in one fiery moment.
▶ Ila Arun as Amma, manages well as the old lady who knows way too much.
▶ Pitobash as Begum’s handyman and pimp Surjeet, is amazing and manages to shine in the part given to him.
▶ Mishti as Shabnam hardly has a line in the whole 134 mins film. (Fun fact: She is the same beauty whom we see in the Vicco Ad during the interval in theatres, saying, “Kya aapko mere face par dark spots dikh rahe hai? Close-up main bhi nahi? Kyunki hain hi nhi!” *Facepalms*)
▶ Rajesh Sharma as Inspector Shyam and Vivek Mushran as Masterji do fine in their respective roles.
Watch o Not ? Definitely. This is how a woman-centric film should be. Begum Jaan is high on content, emotions, (metaphorically) colors and mind-blowing performances supported by meticulous visuals.
Verdict : Good intentions also need to meet good craftsmanship; the abundance of one can’t compensate for the lack of another. Therefore, to cut out the confusion, Begum Jaan warrants a watch for the significant storytelling, background score (most of the time), a quintessential performances and awe-inspiring visuals.
Ratings - 3/5 (Considering the technical flaws).
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