Bombay Begums

Major plus point to the show is all about acting. Lead cast has done a beautiful job. But downfall for the Netflix drama is lots of unwanted strings attached to main story line. Although show wanted to make a clear agenda of sexual harassment going in corporate world, it somehow deviates from it. Producers spoiled the impact of the show by trying to make it fit for the commercial cinema.

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.

Great premise, powerful theme, appropriate setting, super star quotient, raised on a lavish scale - Bombay Begums has it all to its advantage. It's not a chic flick mind you, it's about four women with their own growth aspirations while balancing the family and personal turmoils. Their playground is a fictional Bank in Mumbai that is in dire needs of a profile uplift, which is the newly appointed CEO Rani's (Pooja Bhatt) primary challenge. But she faces massive headwinds - an uncooperative board led by an unnecessarily grumpy Rituraj who looks constipated all the time, a difficult Corporate Banking Head, Deepak (Manish Chaudhary) with his own professional objectives that are at crossroads with Rani, and lack of original ideas to steer the bank forward.

Adding to her troubles are her stepson who after a drunken night with a prostitute runs over the latter's son inadvertently, plunging both family and Rani's reputation into darkness and giving a free access to the sex worker Lily (Amruta Subhash) to the bank boardroom to blackmail Rani into overt submission and meeting her own aspiration to set up a factory that she hopes will restore her pride and a place in the society. The other two women in the scene are an impressive Shahana Goswami playing Fatima, the number two to Rani, fighting her own personal family battles, trying to live up to the challenge of her professional pursuit, and a tormented Plabita Borthakur (Ayesha) who has a myriad of issues to tackle at the bank and in her own personal life.

You get the whiff, right? Bombay Begums straddles numerous sociopolitical, personal, professional issues mired in financial crimes, exploitation, sexual violence, extramarital affairs, corporate politics, workplace sexual misconduct, fertility problems, etc., the list is endless. Hence the series goes all over the place trying to tie the subjects together into a singular executable affair - women's struggle for the rightful place in society keeping their dignity intact. The series spreads itself too thin, like all other Alankrita Shrivastava offerings of the past. Pooja Bhatt is superlative and poignant in several episodes. Shahana Goswami is restrained, lowboy yet powerful in execution. Amruta Subhash and Plabita Borthakur grate on the nerves oh so successfully and that too in brilliant partnership with each other. The men are at best WASTED!

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.

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.