Begum Jaan
Begum Jaan | |
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Mishti | |
Narrated by | Amitabh Bachchan |
Cinematography | Gopi Bhagat |
Edited by | Monisha R. Baldawa Vivek Mishra |
Music by | Indraadip Dasgupta |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | NH Studioz (India) White Hill Studios (North America) Magic Cloud (Overseas) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 127 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹19 crore[1] |
Box office | ₹30.6 crore[2] |
Begum Jaan is a 2017 Indian
The film was released on 14 April 2017.[3] Vidya Balan plays the lead role of a brothel's madam, set in the backdrop of late Indian Independence period of 1948. It is a Hindi remake of the critically acclaimed Bengali film Rajkahini (2015). The film managed to recover its costs and was declared "Average".
Plot
Movie opens with a small family and a young couple travelling in public transport in the late night, while the family getting down at their stop, a group of drunk goons gets into the bus and harasses the couple and tries to rape her where an old woman, saves the girl, undressing herself. Now the movie goes back to 1947. In August 1947, after
After several failed attempts to convince Begum Jaan and her team to leave despite giving them a month's notice, as a last resort, Hari and Ilyas, enlist the help of Kabir, an infamous killer in Sonapur, to threaten Begum with her members to vacate the brothel. Kabir proceeds to kill Begum's beloved dogs, even feeding their meat to Begum and her girls. Raja Sahib returns to the brothel one day to inform Begum Jaan that his efforts to save her brothel have failed and now she must vacate the brothel. Begum, who was having hopes from Raja Sahib is shocked in dismay. Still, she stubbornly tells Raja Sahib come what may, she'll rather die in her house like a queen than die on the streets like a beggar. As a result of Kabir's intimidation tactics, Begum asks Salim to train every one of her girls to use weapons and fight back. Intensive training practice sessions are held. Kabir then kills Sujeet while he is returning from the market with a few other girls of the brothel. He persuades the girls to escape while sacrificing his life. This killing enrages Begum Jaan and her members further.
Meanwhile, Masterji, Laadli's teacher, is in love with Begum Jaan and proposes to her, unaware that another prostitute named Gulabo, harbors feelings for him as well. Begum Jaan rejects his proposal and asks him to leave, leading an irate Master to concoct a plan to kill her. He convinces Gulabo to run away from the brothel, betraying Begum Jaan. Gulabo does so but Masterji spurns her and gets her raped by his accomplices inside a horse carriage. She vows vengeance.
That same night, Kabir and his men attack the brothel. Laadli her mother and shabnam are forced to run away and are attacked by the policeman Shyam Singh, who seeks benefit from them, but laadli undresses herself which reminds him his ten years old daughter and he cries and asks her to stop. Begum and the girls fight back but to no avail. Gulabo returns and later slits Masterji's throat, while he is witnessing the attack on the brothel by Kabir and his goons. However, she has been badly assaulted by Masterji's accomplices and dies. The goons throw lighted torches inside the brothel, causing the building to be engulfed in flames. Begum Jaan and her girls put up a determined fight. Many are killed. She and her four surviving members smile while looking at their home being set ablaze; they walk inside the building and shut the doors. They burn to death as Amma narrates the story of Rani Padmavati of Chittorgarh, who refused to fall into the hands of the enemy and instead martyred herself and died a valiant death, just like the plight of Begum Jaan.
As the movie ends, Ilyas and Hari are seen to be remorseful of their actions; Ilyas shoots himself and we are shown the remains of the brothel and the end to the Begum Jaan legacy. In present the old lady turned out to be Laadli who undressed herself to save the couple seeing this the goons had to run away in fear, as the goons flee a very old laadli leaves by supporting the injured couple.
Cast
- Vidya Balan as Begum Jaan[4]
- Ila Arun as Amma[5]
- Gauahar Khan as Rubina[6]
- Pallavi Sharda as Gulabo[7]
- Priyanka Setia as Jameela
- Ridheema Tiwari as Amba[8]
- Flora Saini as Maina
- Raviza Chauhan as Lata
- Poonam Rajput as Rani
- Mishtias Shabnam
- Gracy Goswami as Laadli
- Pitobash Tripathy as Surjeet
- Sumit Nijhawan as Salim
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Hari Prasad
- Chunky Pandeyas Kabir
- Rajit Kapooras Iliyas Khan
- Vivek Mushran as Masterji
- Rajesh Sharma as Shyam
- Naseeruddin Shah as Raja Sahib
- Ashok Dhanuka as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- Sanjay Gurbaxani as Jawaharlal Nehru
- Dicky Banerjee as Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Patrick Eyre as Louis Mountbatten
- Steve Burroughs as Hastings Ismay
- Raja Biswas as Cyril Radcliffe
- Dilip Dave as an old customer of Gulabo
Characters
Actor | Character in Begum Jaan | Actor/ Character in Rajkahini |
---|---|---|
Vidya Balan | Begum Jaan | Rituparna Sengupta |
Ila Arun | Amma | Lily Chakravarty |
Gauahar Khan | Rubina | Jaya Ahsan |
Pallavi Sharda | Gulabo | Parno Mittra (Golap) |
Priyanka Setia | Jameela | Sudipta Chakraborty (Juthika) |
Raviza Chauhan | Lata | Priyanka Sarkar |
Ridheema Tiwari | Amba | Saayoni Ghosh (Koli) |
Flora Saini | Maina | Sohini Sarkar (Duli) |
Mishti
|
Shabnam | Riddhima Ghosh (Fatima/ Shabnam)
|
Poonam Rajput | Rani | Ena Saha (Banno) |
Gracy Goswami | Laadli | Ditipriya Roy (Bunchki) |
Sumit Nijhawan | Salim Mirza | Nigel Akkara |
Vivek Mushran | Master | Abir Chatterjee |
Ashish Vidyarthi | Hari Prasad | Saswata Chatterjee (Prafulla Sen) |
Rajit Kapoor
|
Ilyas Khan | Kaushik Sen (Muhammad Ilyas) |
Chunkey Pandey
|
Kabir | Jisshu Sengupta |
Naseeruddin Shah | Raja Sahib | Rajatava Dutta (Nawab) |
Pitobash Tripathy | Surjeet | Rudranil Ghosh (Sujan) |
Rajesh Sharma | Shyam | Kanchan Mallick (Shashi Babu)
|
Production
This film is the remake of a Bengali film, Rajkahini, which was released in 2015. Principal photography of the film began in June 2016 and was completed in August 2016 in Ranishwar block of Dumka district in Jharkhand.[9][10]
Soundtrack
Begum Jaan | |||||
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Soundtrack album by | |||||
Released | 14 March 2017[11] | ||||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
Length | 26:29 | ||||
Language | Hindi | ||||
Label | Times Music Saregama (for "Woh Subah") | ||||
Anu Malik chronology | |||||
| |||||
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The music for the film is composed by
All lyrics are written by Kausar Munir; all music is composed by Anu Malik
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Prem Mein Tohre" | Asha Bhosle | 3:58 |
2. | "Aazaadiyan" | Sonu Nigam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | 6:41 |
3. | "O Re Kaharo" | Kalpana Patowary, Altamash Faridi | 5:48 |
4. | "Holi Khelein" | Shreya Ghoshal, Anmol Malik | 6:03 |
5. | "Prem Mein Tohre (Reprise)" | Kavita Seth | 3:58 |
6. | "Woh Subah" | Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal | 4:15 |
7. | "Murshida" | Arijit Singh | 5:25 |
Total length: | 36:08 |
Marketing
The first look of the movie introducing Vidya Balan as Begum Jaan was launched on 3 March 2017.[15] The second poster of the movie was launched on 14 April 2017.[16] The trailer of the movie was launched on 14 March 2017 to much critical and commercial acclaim.[17] The trailer crossed 20 million views on Facebook and YouTube within a weeks time.[18]
Reception
As of June 2020[update], the film holds a 10% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on ten reviews with an average rating of 3.86/10.[19]
The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Meena Iyer of
Shubhra Gupta of
References
- ^ "Begum Jaan". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Bollywood Hungama News Network (15 April 2017). "Box Office: Worldwide collections and day wise break up of Begum Jaan". Bollywood Hungama. Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Ray, Dhritiman (14 April 2016). "Mahesh Bhatt's Rajkahini remake being shot in Jharkhand". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ TNN (13 July 2018). "Movies to look forward to". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Tiwari, Soumya Vajpayee (14 February 2017). "Ila Arun: Like acting a bit more than singing". Mid-Day. Mid-Day Infomedia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ IANS (11 July 2016). "Gauhar Khan preparing for sex worker's role in Begum Jaan, remake of Bengali film Rajkahini". The Hans India. Hyderabad Media House. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ PTI (15 February 2017). "Pallavi Sharda feels 'lucky' to work with Vidya Balan in 'Begum Jaan'". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Lohana, Avinash (28 January 2017). "Vidya Balan gets her team of 'warriors' for 'Begum Jaan'". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ IANS (14 April 2016). "'Begum Jaan' shooting to start in June: Srijit Mukherji". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- Daily News & Analysis. Diligent Media Corporation. Archivedfrom the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Begum Jaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. Apple. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ FP Staff (14 February 2017). "'Prem Mein Tohre' from Begum Jaan: Asha Bhosle's song explores vulnerabilities of sex workers". Showsha. Firstpost. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Ajit (30 March 2017). "'Aazaadiyan' from 'Begum Jaan': Sonu Nigam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan create magic with the second track". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- Saavn. Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- The Deccan Chronicle. Archivedfrom the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ Iyengar, Anusha (8 March 2017). "Begum Jaan Poster: Vidya Balan introduces her family with a very powerful tag line". Bollywood Life. IWPL. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ ANI (14 March 2017). "Vidya Balan steals the show in 'Begum Jaan' trailer". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Mid-Day Online Correspondent (20 March 2017). "Bollywood celebs praise Vidya Balan's 'Begum Jaan', trailer crosses 20 million views". Mid-Day. Mid-Day Infomedia. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Begum Jaan (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ Iyer, Meena (14 April 2017). "Begum Jaan Movie Review". The Times of India. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Vats, Rohit (21 July 2017). "Begum Jaan movie review: Vidya Balan and her girls fight patriarchy with all their might". Hindustan Times. HT Media. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Sen, Raja (14 April 2017). "Begum Jaan Movie Review: Vidya Balan Is Wasted In Cheesy Film That's Hard To Take Seriously". NDTV. NDTV Convergence. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Joshi, Namrata (14 April 2017). "'Begum Jaan' review : All sound and fury signifying nothing". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- News18. News18 Network. Archivedfrom the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- Live Mint. HT Media. Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Gupta, Shubhra (14 April 2017). "Begum Jaan movie review: Vidya Balan tries to invest some feeling into her role which soon turns clichéd". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Chatterjee, Saibal (14 April 2017). "Begum Jaan Movie Review: Vidya Balan's Knockout Performance Is Lost In Banshee-Like Shrillness". NDTV. NDTV Convergence. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- Rediff. Archivedfrom the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ^ Singh, Suhani (14 April 2017). "Begum Jaan review: Vidya Balan and her band of fiery sisters can't save this melodrama". India Today. Living Media India. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
External links
- Begum Jaan at IMDb
- Begum Jaan at Rotten Tomatoes