Here's why Mahesh Bhatt wanted Vidya Balan for 'Begum Jaan'

After watching Srijit Mukherji’s 2015 Bengali film, Rajkahini, filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt urged Srijit to make a Hindi adaptation of the same. And this led to Begum Jaan. Speaking on why he got on board as a producer, Mahesh Bhatt told a tabloid, "When I saw Rajkahini, it left a deep impact on me. I was emotionally stir red and overwhelmed. So, I decided to make this in Hindi by changing the plot slightly to appeal to a pan India narrative.”

Buzz is that when Srijit was making the film, he approached Vidya Balan, but she was taking a break from films, and couldn't t sign up for the project. But Vidya decided to come on board when Begum Jaan was being made.

According to the Bhatts, “Begum Jaan is a story of survivors who defy nations to save their homes, riding against the tide amidst the changing political scenario. Vidya plays the lead role of a brothel’s madam in Punjab during India’s partition in 1947."

Speaking of Vidya, Mahesh says, "We wanted a woman who would be emotionally desolate and had a lot of anger in her. Vidya has the emotional bandwidth and the ability to pull out firestorms with her performance. This is her finest performance till date as she is fiery, yet desolate."

Begum Jaan also stars veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, Ila Arun, Gauahar Khan and others and it will see a release on April 14.