Begum Jaan (2017)

Truly Dreadful Film

Boring

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

OK, first thing - Full marks for a different theme! All the promos promised something different and kickass fare. But, only the "different" part holds true. The overall feeling is of being let down. The director and script writer couldn't possibly figure out what they want the movie to be; and so it waffles with few good scenes punctuated by long meandering where nothing really happens. Rather same scenes seem to repeat with different camera angles. There was potential here to make a a terrific movie, despite the basic flaw in the premise (why wouldn't the Prostitutes simple move out and make life elsewhere; they have no attachment to that piece of land and are not attached to specific country, as they keep stating; also why wouldn't the Babus rearrange the border to allow the place to fall in one of the countries?). Unfortunately, despite a decent star cast, background score, location etc - it falls flat.Vidya Balan tries hard and is adequate. The other girls give good support. Just passable fare.

Visually, Begum Jaan is a beautiful movie. Shot almost entirely in an old haveli in Jharkhand that lends it a real period flavor, the movie has great locales. In my mind, that's a major plus point since these days movies seem to shot mostly in touristy locales outside India (usually as part of a promotional effort by the country's tourist board). The other great thing about this movie is its ensemble cast. Such a pleasure to watch stalwarts Naseeruddin Shah, Ila Arun, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vivek Mushran, Chunkey Pandey and Ranjit Kappor again after all this time. They've all changed so much, but are still very watchable in this film. Begum Jaan has a story that makes for melodrama and the director hasn't tried to steer away from it. It's over the top in places, but hey, if you're telling a story of prostitutes caught up in the partition saga, it's allowed. I went to see it on a Thursday, the last day before it made way for new releases, and the hall was fairly full. Encouraging. Hope we get more movies like this in the future.

There are very few movies in Indian Cinema which uphold the very essence of cinema as a medium of expression. As it is said picture can say a thousand words, then "Begum Jaan" tells you about woman, freedom, history, humanity home and many heart touching issues of a non speaking society. Taking a backdrop of post independence event on partition, Begum Jaan has connected the present day woman and scenario of woman of that era. Director Srijit Mukherji bags full points for keeping an eye over the details in shorts and frames. Movie has a great grip as far as performances, screenplay, dialogues and direction is concerned. As we all know the credibility of Vidya Balan as a performer, she is awesomely outstanding as Begum Jaan. Supported by experiences like Ila Arun, Rajit Kapoor, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajesh Sharma and all army of wonderful actors.... Special mention for Gauahar Khan and Chunky Pandey, their performances has a very different mark in the movie. Its a masterpiece for a sensible cinema lover. Audiences who are their for entertainment please don't critic this movie. Its simply a 10/10. Its a must watch...

I think the Bhatt family smokes weed every time they make a movie. This movie was utterly rubbish. They could do so much with the script, but the director just screwed up the plot. The story was just outstanding and I was expecting so much from the movie mainly because of that. The dubbing, the editing, the acting (What the hell happened to Vidya Balan?!? She used to be so much better before), everything was just awful. There was a scene in the movie where the shot had half of the actor's face in a frame. Everyone in the movie thought the theater was probably zooming in but it was actually how it was shot. I can't believe i spent $15 on this movie. I am surprised the board even let them release this movie. So disappointed seriously. Movies like this spoils Indian film industry's reputation across the world.