Why I did not like Begum Jaan

When a Vidya Balan movie hits the silver screen, the expectations are sky-rocketing. One cannot help but long for the acting powerhouse who has countless awards into her kitty including a national award and 4 back-to-back Filmfares. The kind of career choices she has made is truly remarkable. The list comprises of a variety of roles including a possessed woman (Bhool Bhulaiya), an independent woman taking care of a special son (Paa), a married woman seeking vengeance with shades of grey (Ishqiya), an actress with an unapologetic sexual appeal (The Dirty Picture) and a pregnant woman searching for her husband with a secret mission of her own (Kahaani). 

You know the audience are eagerly waiting for a movie, when a national award winner director (Srijit Mukherji) casts Vidya Balan to reprise a role earlier immortalize by the superbly talented Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta. The icing on the cake was the association of the fantastic actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Rajit Kapoor, Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajesh Sharma with the project.

(spoilers ahead)

Half an hour into the movie and I knew that I had bought the tickets for something different, something I was not looking forward to. I felt cheated. I found a fantastic plot, a stellar starcast let down completely by a poor script and dialogues. It is indeed a tough job to create a drama woven around social issues and make justice to the subject. But a director with the caliber of pulling off a national award winner Jaatishwar could have done it with a remarkable finesse, but this time he could not.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because throwing off one-liners again and again cannot make up for good dialogues. It gets boring after a while. And Mr. Kausar Munir (dialogues) you lost me there.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because an important issue of the politics behind the partition of India is utterly trivialized. I believe, it formed the crux of the storyline, yet not given a fair treatment. And Mr. Mukherji (screenplay) you lost me there.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because the director tries to pack too many subplots and references into a single narrative. Maybe, I was expecting a classic like Mandi, but could only get a potpourri of half-finished stories. And Mr Mukherji (direction) you again lost me there. 

I did not like Begum Jaan, because it does not help to show a frame with half-cut faces of the officers (Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajit Kapoor) time and again, probably with a intention of depicting the concept of partition. Too much of repetition loses the charm of the trick. Mr. Gopi Bhagat (Camera) you lost me there. 

I did not like Begum Jaan, because a talented musician who has given numerous renditions including Refugee failed to impress here. A line up of ace singers such as Asha Bhosle, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Kavita Seth, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal too failed to make a mark. Mr. Anu Malik (music) you lost me there. I thought you still have it in you when you recently gave a winner in Moh Moh Ke Dhage, but I have my doubts now.

I did not like Begum Jaan, because most of the starcast is wasted here completely, with a few exceptions. Balan aces in an powerful role of a brothel-madam, but has not been given good dialogues and the script does not do justice to the powerful actress she is. Ashish Vidhyarthi and Rajit Kapoor, as the Govt officials, feel helpless enacting their half-baked characters. Rajesh Sharma is wasted as a corrupt police officer. Pitobash Tripathy, as the pimp Surjeet, could have been given a more meaty role. Ila Arun is reduced to just a story telling grandma. Was an actor of the caliber of Naseeruddin Shah needed to play the Rajaji with fading control and power? I don’t know. 

Maybe I am being too ruthless while writing this scathing piece. Maybe I am, but I cannot help it, because it was a Vidya Balan project and I had huge expectations from it. However, the movie had a few hidden gems such as Gauahar Khan, the only one who stands out among the nine girls. Watch her character Rubina, in the scene with Surjeet (Tripathy) where she convinces him that her heart belongs to him, even though the body gets sold every night. It's time, the actress was given good roles to let her prove her acting prowess. Another surprise element is Chunky Pandey, who is completely unrecognizable in a role of a merciless supari killer Kabir. He does such a fab job that you actually detest him from your core. It's better if he does away with the roles such as Akhiri Pasta and focuses on more meaningful ones. 

Overall, the movie had its moments which the audience will take away with them after leaving the theater. Alas! There are not too many of those. Balan could have better not broken her rule of not working in a remake. Or maybe Mukherji could have not thought of weaving too many elements. I would like to give a generous 2 and half stars for Begum Jaan. You can probably save money spent on theater tickets and instead wait for the DVD to be out or it to be streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on national television.