Bombay Begums

Bombay Begums review :

Released on Netflix earlier this month, Bombay Begums got in to an ongoing controversy for its alleged drug abuse involving children as well as immoral relationships. Frankly, as a viewer, these things least bother me as long as the filmmaker has an entertaining story to tell. Something which can grip you till the end. Unfortunately, Alankrita Shrivastava's six episode web-series is over-stretched to extent that it exhausts itself within the first two to three episodes.

The plot revolves around a medium sized bank whose CEO Rani (Pooja Bhatt) is battling the internal politics along with her nagging menopause. She re-hires a fired fresher Ayesha (Plabita Borthakur) for a new CSR project which involves rehabilitation of a prostitute Lily (Amruta Subhash) who lives for her child's future. Fatima (Shahana Goswami) is finding it tough to balance the hectic worklife with her impending motherhood but nevertheless, takes the call to get promoted after Rani persuades her.

Next, the creepy male CEO aspirant (Manish Chaudhary, effective) lays his hands on unsuspecting Ayesha while Fatima falls for the charms of her firangi client and cheats on her hubby (Vivek Gomber). Meanwhile, Rani's step daughter Shai (Aadhya Anand) has a drug overdose at a friends party.

One interesting fact about Bombay Begums is that all its characters - big or small and male or female - have grey shades to them. No one is swanky clean; no one is disgustingly evil either. They are flawed persons vying for name and existence in this material world. Ayesha is shown a bisexual who is struggling with her preferences. Fatima loves her hubby but still gives in to the temptation of a torrid affair. Shai is a confused soul who speaks through her art and misses her dead mommy to point of living a fantasy.

Alankrita's characters are well etched but the screenplay is so overlong that you lose attention after the first three episodes. The sex scenes get repetitive. So does all that corporate world mumbo jumbo. A crisp four episode series would've made Bombay Begums infinitely better...and recommendable. As for the drug abuse bit, Madhur Bhandarkar's Page 3 (2005) had more shocking scenes than the one depicted here. That film won a National award while poor Begums is on verge of getting banned. Truly unnecessary!!

All said and seen, the series' biggest positive are the brilliant performances from the girl gang - all of them. Pooja Bhatt and Shahana Goswami are clear standouts and it feels great to see Pooja back in action after being relegated to a photograph in pappa Mahesh's Sadak 2 last year. Pooja Bhatt rocks. Unfortunately, Bombay Begums don't!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

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.

It is presented well.It seems close to reality .It is relatable and to some extent shows to tackle the problem too. It's an entertaining story.

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.