Bombay Begums

After testing waters with her highly provocative works like Lipstick under my Burkha, Made in Heaven and Dolly Kitty aur woh Chamakte Sitare, creator-director Alankritha Srivastava raises the stakes to a much higher level with Bombay Begums. The web series focuses on the lives of women in Mumbai belonging to various echelons of the society divided by socio-economic status, for a brief period of time.

In true Alankritha's style the series contains lots of sex scenes or rather unnecessary sex scenes that is left for the audiences to decide. But what works in the favour of Bombay Begums is its soul connecting storyline, that is brought to life with some amazing high quality characters that depict the society we live in today, especially the metros. The stories of five women, okay four women and a girl, who of various age groups raise various questions about their Issues of corporate high-handedness and boardroom politics that are intertwined with questions of gender identity, sexuality, workplace sexual harassment and even motherhood. The cocktail of which is then served on the screen, accompanied by some powerful acting performances by its central cast. What makes it more interesting is the fact that the characters, despite being strong and vivacious, are flawed beings, and often make questionable decisions motivated by self-interest.

Cinematography though very good in structure, is letdown by some very dim lighting is some scenes due to the shooting of scenes in natural light. Screenplay with well defined characters is beautifully crafted, laced with mandatory sex scenes in a typical Alankritha's style is covertly balanced, that calls a spade, a spade. Editing is a little bit messy at places and hinders the flow of the story, but with a run time of under 300 minutes one has to appreciate the editor. Production design is a mixed bag with lots of hits and misses, costumes were good and goofy at the same time, makeup was consistently overdone for almost everyone. Music was gentle and neat with a couple of good one minute songs, especially Lily's terrific item number. On the acting front Pooja Bhat delivered what she couldn't in the 90's, Gosh I never expected that surprise. Shahana Goswami chips in the extra effort, ably supported by by Amrutha Subhash (not her usual best) and Plabita Borthakur, who in a bold attempt plays a confused Ayesha, that will define her acting career for the future.

Overall, Bombay Begums is a step in the right direction. Despite the flawed nature in which its story is presented, the series has its heart in the right place and its representation of women is something new, even radical by Indian standards. Either you may like or hate it but Bombay Begums is an important landmark in Indian cinema as of 2021 for its boldness. Director Alankrita Shrivastava's ability to navigate through various layers of suppressed anger and the emotional volatility of her characters make for a most engaging watch. 7.3 stars out of 10 for an bold enterprise that asks the right set of questions to the right persons.

Bombay Begums focuses on lives of Mumbai women belonging to different parts of society. It's female oriented show with high dose of feminism and flawed too, but then you can't deny the fact that the series is engaging.

I didn't liked the fact that there was too much of sensous scenes which was not necessary. Too much of booze.

The thing I liked most was the portryal of corporate women in the series which looks convincing. The characters are flawed but I guess the heart of the story is in right place.

Alankrita Srivastava, the writer and director of the show is known for pushing boundaries with her portrayal of women's sexuality and Bombay Begums is no different.

Corporate politics, struggle for women for survival seems real in the story and is engaging.

The performance of each and every lead actresses is top notch. Pooja Bhatt is simply superb in this.

The characters i most hated was of the ayesha. She is like a leech. Who survive on others and take advantage of others. Most annoying. Overall series was slow n boring.

If they are simply showing 5 lives of women without any disclaimer, then, it's fine. But how are these women portrayed as Begum? This is not empowerment. Except laxmi all characters seem hopeless, unwise and stupid.

Women don't need to act like irresponsible men to get empowered. Let's create shows where both men and women are expected to act wisely and responsibly. Just don't try to portray cheating, stupidity, taking drugs as empowerment. If men do it, it's wrong. If women do it, it's wrong.

Great authentic performance almost by all .

Overall Low ratings because it has shown something which indian traditional society can't accept easily - women trying to live their life freely while balancing responsibilities.

It's a masterpiece . Pooja Bhatt I don't remember acted so well even during her peak (was there one?) .

Sensitivies between different Relationships have been very well handled. Great job by the director and writer .

It leaves you wanting to wait for season 2!