Disclaimer-I am rather fond of Vidya Balan, so this could be a tad biased.
There are a lot of good things in the film, like its attempts to give each character in Begum Jaan's establishment a unique identity and character. That is not easy to do, considering it is an establishment of ill-repute, and the ladies (and a couple of gents) don't get to go out of the house much. But we do sympathise or empathise with most of the characters.
The story-telling sessions by the old lady in the house are used brilliantly to weave in tales of heroism by Indian women in the face of extreme adversity- Padmavati, Rani Laxmibai and so on. There is also comic relief in the form of the inspector and the man of the house imitating various inmates.
The fiery character of Begum Jaan is well played by Vidya Balan. The two other main characters of Rajat Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi are OK, a bit predictable given the story. The biggest contribution of the film though is its indictment of humanity for its merciless, callous treatment of fellow humans, in this case brought about by colonisers and their decision to partition India. But what about the other people who pushed for it or were a party to it?
Cinematically, not a great film to watch, but it's got its good points-Vidya and the ladies being one of them. Naseeruddin Shah is so-so in his guest appearance.
There are a lot of good things in the film, like its attempts to give each character in Begum Jaan's establishment a unique identity and character. That is not easy to do, considering it is an establishment of ill-repute, and the ladies (and a couple of gents) don't get to go out of the house much. But we do sympathise or empathise with most of the characters.
The story-telling sessions by the old lady in the house are used brilliantly to weave in tales of heroism by Indian women in the face of extreme adversity- Padmavati, Rani Laxmibai and so on. There is also comic relief in the form of the inspector and the man of the house imitating various inmates.
The fiery character of Begum Jaan is well played by Vidya Balan. The two other main characters of Rajat Kapoor and Ashish Vidyarthi are OK, a bit predictable given the story. The biggest contribution of the film though is its indictment of humanity for its merciless, callous treatment of fellow humans, in this case brought about by colonisers and their decision to partition India. But what about the other people who pushed for it or were a party to it?
Cinematically, not a great film to watch, but it's got its good points-Vidya and the ladies being one of them. Naseeruddin Shah is so-so in his guest appearance.
1 comment:
Ok. Will let it go.
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