'Begum Jaan' review: Vidya Balan-starrer is marred by cliched approach to storytelling

Movie: Begum Jaan
Director: Srijit Mukherji
Cast: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Gauhar Khan, Sumit Nijhawan, Rajat Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma, Ashish Vidyarthi 

When it comes to acting chops, you have to give it to Vidya Balan. Not only her acting but even her choice of roles. While other actresses are concentrate on looking good or passing off an accent/mannerism as acting, she has consistently proven that she can get under the skin of the most unconventional characters with aplomb.

And yet through Begum Jaan's 135-minute run, you feel sorry as Balan is badly let down by such an un-nuanced, un-layered, cliched approach to storytelling. It uses cranking up of the shrillness quotient as a way of furthering the narrative. The trailer had filled me with a lot of hope, since the premise of the brothel keeper fiercely guarding her turf was such a throwback to Shyam Benegal's Mandi from 34 years ago! Blessed with an equally large cast and a budget which is over 4,800% higher, one expected a classic that would mark the new 24-karat standard on films on this subject, but it lets you down.

Since Begum Jaan comes so close on the heels of another very powerful film about an assertive woman, Anarkali Arrahwali, this hurts all the more. Considering how that superlative film was not promoted even 1/10th as aggressively. To make it worse, Srijit Mukherji keeps rubbing the let down in, by doffing his hat at several iconic masterpieces that parallel cinema gave us through the 70s and 80s.

Naseeruddin Shah reprises a role with shades of his sexual predator from Mirch Masala who will not take no for an answer while Sumit Nijhawan as Salim Mirza is a throwback to Om Puri's Abu Mian, the lone security guard of Mirch Masala who loyally defends the women, even paying for it with his own life, just like Mirza. There are shades of Govind Nihalani's Tamas and Vinay Shukla's Godmother too thrown in for good measure. Yet the sum total leaves the viewer underwhelmed.

This is not to say there is no formidable talent in the casting. But Rajat Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma and Ashish Vidyarthi are made to play parts which seem more caricature than character. Ila Arun (who once called herself “the shagun ka nariyal” of any Benegal project) reprises a really strong role which leaves a mark as does Gauhar Khan who imbues her Rubina with a rawness that comes across more strongly than her Chand Baby in Ishaqzaade.

Partition has always been about the Western border and largely Punjab. But there was also East Pakistan and there have not been many narratives around what transpired there. Begum Jaan offered a big opportunity to correct that. But in its remake, Begum Jaan's kotha shifts to the Western border and in the process continues the Punjabi stranglehold on Bollywood.

While the credits salute Ismat Chugtai and Manto, one also found the omission of Mahashweta Devi's name in that list rather glaring as Begum Jaan borrows the defiance of Dopdi Mejhen from the late Jnanpith awardee's short story Draupadi, twice.

It will be wrong not to talk about some great camerawork and art direction in Begum Jaan as also the music by Anu Malik. Asha Bhosle's 'Pyaar Mere Tohre' makes you pause wondering why, uncharacteristically for her, she sounds so tentative and tired.

Would I recommend Begum Jaan? I would. For Vidya who bravely shoulders this cliche with all she's got. And also because of the times we live in, when exclusion has taken the form of a multi-headed monster who raises his head in every sphere.

Rajkahini the Bengali original of Begum Jaan is now on my to-watch list. 

Rating: ***