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Begum Jaan review: A history lesson delivered at top volume

Begum Jaan review: A history lesson delivered at top volume

In Srijit Mukerji’s remake of 'Rajkahini', Vidya Balan plays the madam of a brothel on the Indo-Pak border.
15 Apr, 2017

Srijit Mukerji’s Begum Jaan is a mostly faithful remake of his 2015 Bengali movie Rajkahini – which means that the sensationalist plot, overwrought storytelling, screechy acting and tabloid account of the Partition have made it across the language divide unchallenged.

The Hindi version, which is set in Punjab rather than the Bengal region, has shed several dispensable minutes, but the central premise stays: the conflation of the woman’s body and the country. A brothel smack on the border of India and the newly formed Pakistan refuses to shut shop and move. The brothel madam, the fearsome and foul-mouthed Begum Jaan of the title, wants to stop the march of history, or at least stall it. Begum Jaan (Vidya Balan) has had the patronage of the local king (Naseeruddin Shah) for years, and her aggressive body language and profanity-laden speech disappear when he appears. Before him, this spitting tigress is a purring cat – so much for being a woman with a mind of her own.

Representatives of India and Pakistan (played by Rajit Kapur and Ashish Vidyarthi) are unable to shake Begum Jaan’s position. Ignoring the swell of refugees crossing the border on both sides, Begum Jaan rebels against a decision she had nothing to do with, stays glued to her porch, and shouts down the unwelcome visitors. It is left to the movie’s best character, mercenary for hire Kabir (Chunky Pandey), to finish off what they started.

Mukerji borrows freely from Shyam Benegal’s classic Mandi (1983) as well as oral accounts of the Partition to craft a bottom-down version of history. The horrors of the division of India in 1947 are seen over the shoulders of women who have been trading their bodies, and Mukerji demands that they be taken seriously.

It sounds like a wonderful and welcome alternative to mansplaining – but perhaps it might have been more effective if the movie had opted for subtlety rather than crudeness and the women had been flesh-and-blood rather than paper-thin. The arms akimbo stance, outward jutting hips, and revealing clothing are all from Mandi, but Begum Jaan doesn’t have a single character worth rooting for. Gauhar Khan plays the madam’s helper, who is in love with the in-house entertainer Sujit (Pitobash Tiwary); Pallavi Sharda’s Gulabo lusts for the saintly teacher (Vivek Mushran) who has a thing for Begum Jaan; Mishti is the young rape victim whom Begum Jaan shelters.

Mukerji is unable to suggest a working or professional relationship between these women who live under the same roof, which makes their latter-reel solidarity unconvincing.

Begum Jaan (2017).
Begum Jaan (2017).

The usually dependable Vidya Balan struggles to make her Partition denier act work, and barely improves on the pantomime qualities of the original actress, Rituparna Sengupta. Mukerji regards the madam as an incarnation of mythic heroines such as Laxmibai of Jhansi and Razia Sultan – yet another instance of the on-the-nose writing and in-your-face characterisation – but Begum Jaan’s rebellion comes off as obduracy rather than a middle finger to the colonial and post-colonial forces who took far-reaching decisions without caring for how they would play out.

There’s a lot of yelling and cussing (some of which has been tempered by the easily shocked censor board) before the inevitable boobs-versus-bullets battle. Lost in the rumpus is the opportunity to dramatise the very real violence that women faced before and during the Partition. A sequence set in the present day, which bookends the plot, is clumsily handled but is also effective in pointing out that women often pay the price for achieving freedom. Their stories are not always told, so Srijit Mukerji takes it upon himself to do so – by shouting at the top of his voice so as to be heard all the way till the every edge of Pakistan.


This article was originally published on Scroll.in and has been reproduced with permission.

Comments

Anurag Gautam Apr 15, 2017 12:45pm
I was expecting more from the movie but it didn't meet my expectations. But still one can watch it least one time.
Recommend
Hyder Apr 15, 2017 03:19pm
Sir Again a plot of utter rubbish mixed with vulgarity and foul language but what else can you expect from Bollywood movies in this era???
Recommend
r sultan Apr 15, 2017 03:45pm
The actress is a classical south Asian beauty. In many ways like Sarwat Gillani and Mahira Khan.
Recommend
Dr. Ali Apr 15, 2017 05:02pm
@Hyder No one is forcing you to see it Sir
Recommend
Khaled Apr 15, 2017 05:04pm
@Hyder Sir she speaks the truth.
Recommend
IMTIAZ ALI KHAN Apr 15, 2017 05:54pm
@r sultan yes indeed she is a beauty, desi hussan beh kuch kam nahee dosroon seh hai rab! Kya khubsora insan banaya heh rab neh inhay.
Recommend
Saqib Apr 15, 2017 06:15pm
I really miss the family friendly govinda and kader khan comedies ...
Recommend
Anurag Gautam Apr 15, 2017 07:59pm
@Sakib Bhaijaan really I miss Govinda and my favourite comedian Mr Khadar Khan. Raja Babu,aankhe, Coleen no 1,hero no1,dhuleraja etc ect are gem of this dued.
Recommend
usman Apr 15, 2017 09:57pm
GOOD MOVIE
Recommend
John Apr 15, 2017 11:16pm
@Hyder that's for you my dear reality cinema. Ever heard in Pakistan.
Recommend
Ahmad Apr 15, 2017 11:22pm
I am eagerly looking forward to seeing this movie in cinema in Pakistan
Recommend
mullahdopiazza Apr 15, 2017 11:25pm
Looks like a promotion for shisha smoking.
Recommend
Deepthi Apr 15, 2017 11:36pm
I heard it was banned in Pakistan. Is it true?
Recommend
Shaheen Apr 16, 2017 08:10am
@Hyder not to worry, the movie is anyway banned in Pakistan, Poor you
Recommend
arsalAn Apr 16, 2017 08:56am
Didn't like this movie. It's a total waste of time and money. It's better to sit on a bench in a park and eat an ice cream instead of watching this movie.
Recommend
KHURAM NISAR Apr 16, 2017 09:54am
@Hyder Ofcourse, character is bold; require vulgarity and bad language. i haven't seen the movie yet but character like brothel incharge do go through this stuff on daily basis and justice should be done with the character.
Recommend
rahul Apr 17, 2017 08:41am
I never saw a article of praise on the news channel for Dangal
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FAREED HUSSAIN Apr 19, 2017 01:09pm
the great pipe sucker begum jaan sahiba
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