Begum Jaan or Raaj Kahini in Hindi? Film Unreview

May 31, 2017 bollywood , Entertainment 0 Comments

I just finished watching the Hindi version of Rajkahini. Yes, that is how I would rather address the film Begum Jaan given the core duplication of the project, notwithstanding the additional grandeur of the Bollywood budget as compared to its poorer cousin- the Kolkata Film Industry. Coming back to Begum Jaan, the movie indeed left me eyed, angry as ever, and pushing me back in melancholy, reminding the atrocities of 1947 and 1984.

Filmmakers must keep telling, keep reminding us of the atrocities of those dreadful ages. Humanity must remember such bruises only to ensure that they do not repeat them again. For that, I applaud the movie and all its minute efforts to do so.

I even appreciated the opening scene wherein an old woman disrobed herself to protect a young girl from 3 rapists in almost a Nirbhaya-like sequence. It was quite impactful and could shake anyone in their gut.

The Story of Begum Jaan
The film is about a brothel, its matriarch owner, and her unwillingness to relocate to another location given geographical redistribution owing to a painful partition between India & Pakistan.

No tongue-twister intended but the story is very simple. When India and Pakistan got separated, in the tug of "me before nation and countrymen" war between two legendary leaders, Radcliff was summoned to design the borders. Unfortunately, the line that was drawn sitting in an ivory tower, passed through the Begum Jaan's brothel and required her to shift from the location to another safer place, lock stock and one hookah barrel.

When summoned by the executors, our lady with her borrowed unibrow not only refuses to vacate her blade but insults the two bureaucrats- Ilyas and his friend before partition- Shrivastava.

NO hell hath fury like two insulted bureaucrats. In a bid to get their order executed, they take the help of a ruthless local goon, only to mourn their decision in the end.

Numerounity Reviews

The subject is sensitive and heart-touching. What I did not like was the treatment of the core story, the screenplay, or the direction. The movie had a powerful subject, filled with all the required amount of angst, trauma, and suppression. However, it could not justify the storyline or the way the screenplay moved. Even the reference to powerful historical women characters wrt to its leading lady [Vidya Balan in amusing disguises] and her justification to not shift a house made of brick and mortar, instead, letting go of the lives of its dwellers, whose lives she restored, maintained and perpetuated.

The movie had emotions and practicality at convenient points but the narrative lacked resonance.  It is my perspective and I may be wrong. However, there were many loose ends in the film that did not connect. I already mentioned the first one. 

The second one is the cold-heartedness of the two crucial characters Ilyas and Shrivastava who have gone through similar life-wrenching experiences. They have also seen their innocent women bearing the brunt of this sadistic society that finds consolation by ill-treating its women. Yet they select a way to deal with the problem at hand and despite demonstrated atrocities, stick with it till the end. Job pressures eh? Even though the storyline was poor, the characters played by Rajit Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi were as flawless as ever. Ashish Vidyarthi is my all-time favorite but if I have to compare him and Rajat Kapoor, the latter stole the thunder in this film.

The Performances
Talking about the performances, in the entire film, there were only a few characters that remained to their true sketch. Vidya Balan did her Begum Jaan act well, even though she was reduced to a lot of stereotypes. However, it was the other actors that left a bigger impact. They were - the ruthless Kabir well-played by Chunky Pandey, Gauhar Khan as Rubina, Ila Arun [she is a delight to watch as always] Pritobash Tripathy, Rajesh Sharma, and surprisingly, the lovelorn Pallavi Sharda.

"Vidya Balan makes even stereotypes look good" - Numerounity!

Talking about the probable jaan of this film- Vidya Balan. Vidya Balan had many pieces of armor to carry her character. She had Rajkahini to fall back too, which she did. She sailed well in her soprano, standing as tall as the amazing Rituparna in Raajkahini. Blame it on the script or poor narrative that shifted her character as a pendulum. At one moment, she was ok to live through the fancies of the king [a small role essayed by Naseeruddin Shah] to ensure the upkeep of her brothel. At another moment, she reprimands him when he expresses his failure to convince the government to not get her brothel demolished. At one point, she is shown absolutely practical in situations, handling people the way they should be. At another moment, she is shown unmoved by the loss of her pet, her home-keeper, and probable threat to all people inside her house only to continue living in a house that she was not born in.

I am not denying the emotions attached to a house but what suffices the lives of humans/pets over brick and mortar. Like I said, the movie is conveniently practical, lazily photostat at places. Overall, the build-up except at the climax was sorely missing.

The fact that this movie, its characters, and even their dresses, and dialogues were so loosely copied from the original, stole away all the probable merit. Come on, you have a fierce subject, pre-defined characters, and premises. Yet you cannot deliver a film on your own?

I have seen both the movies- frame to frame and was appalled by the resemblance. It would have been a better idea if they dubbed Raajkahini in Hindi and released the original. But Hell, it is a Bhatt's production and apparently, they have run out of sleazy B-grade Hollywood movies to get the inspiration from. Given the fact that it was Bhatt's production- the nawab converts into Raja in Hindi, while everything else including historical references is copied [used] shamelessly. Chalo, in a way, is good if the message reaches a wider, non-bangla audience as well. Amaar sonaar Bollywood! [I guess I should be reviewing Raajkahini instead :P]

Nevertheless, I really want people to watch this movie. If not for technical/creative aspects, watch it for academic purposes. While, I do not know a lot about movie making, nor am I an appointed torch bearer of humanity, as many of you may like to troll. However, I have one basic question- Who/what gives the right to one human to kill/ act brutally with other humans? What do you want to justify by using rape as a tool?

Why is it so difficult to re-module a geographical border that never existed but it is ok to let go of human lives as if they were the muted trees in the busy meadows? Is modification such a herculean task?

It is not about the film but the underlying idea. I know a lot of us including me questioned the logic behind the stubbornness of the lead character who loved a house above the multiple lives that dwelled in it. As I said, it was the flawed narration that could not place the logic.

The movie could have been powerful and more impactful but the unbinding narrative lost its plot, its purpose somewhere to portray the drama. Sometimes a little too loud, sometimes a little too manipulative. Yet kudos to the characters- young, old, leading, loading, or the indirect reference to the agony caused by partition, the movie is indeed worth a watch.

My rating: 3/5 [Only for the performances]