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| Edited By: Aishwarya Vasudevan |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Mar 08, 2021, 04:34 PM IST
Cast: Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur, Aadhya Anand, Rahul Bose, Danish Husain, Vivek Gomber and Imaad Shah
Showrunner: Alankrita Shrivastava
Duration: Six episodes
Where to watch: Netflix
Critics' Rating: 3.5/5
Five women across generations wrestle with desire, ethics, personal crises and vulnerabilities to own their ambition in contemporary urban India. As glass ceilings are shattered, and hearts are broken, difficult choices have to be made. And as each woman strives to find her own truth, they find in each other an unexpected understanding and the sliver of a bond.
Lipstick Under My Burkha meets Bombshell meets Corporate - sums up Alankrita Shrivastava's Bombay Begums. But this is not something that should be looked at as a negative point towards the series. Alankrita knows how to transform women's desires be it of any age group to the screen and make it hard-hitting as ever. The journey which started from Lipstick Under My Burkha continues with Bombay Begums and hopefully her further projects.
With this Netflix original show, Pooja Bhatt made a proper acting comeback after nearly a decade and it has been long due. The show oozed out the incredible acting talent which the actor-filmmaker has in her. Pooja plays the role of a head honcho Rani of a bank in Mumbai and apart from being a woman making it big in the man's world, she is also desiring respect as a wife and a mother. Although she is married for the second time, her new husband's kids are yet to accept her and living under the memory of their birth mom.
This doesn't stop her from making any efforts to pampering them and helping them in every difficult situation. Pooja's portrayal as a mom shows her vulnerable side, while as a boss, she is indeed a reigning Queen.
Just a level down her is Shahana Goswami who plays Fatima in the show. She is shown as someone who wants to go on another level on a professional front and has no qualms in being the boss to her husband too. But, her husband played by Vivek Gomber wishes to see them becoming parents too. Their poles apart approach towards life are a few sequences that will stay. Goswami's no-nonsense personality makes her a go-getter in the right approach.
Shahana is an actor who needs to stay and make constant appearances onscreen. Her every role has been better than the previous one and she can slip into any character with the same determination and conviction.
Coming to Amruta Subhash, she plays the role of a sex worker who wants to switch her profession to see her son become a successful person with no baggage. She tries every possible scheme to achieve her desires despite meeting with brickbats at every step.
What can one say about Amruta who has been delivering kickass performance back-to-back? She leaves no stone unturned in getting into the skin of a character she plays.
Coming to Plabita Borthakur, her character Ayesha is very much relatable to a small-town girl trying to make it big in the maximum city. However, it doesn't stop there, she also discovers her sexuality of being a bisexual woman in the process. Alankrita knows how to bring out the best in Plabita and this time also we got to witness it.
Aadhya Anand as Shai is a surprise package just like Pooja who plays her stepmom. It shows the desires of a teenager who thinks rejection is the end of the world. She is shown in a haste to explore every possible need just like a rebellious teenager. Her character sketch is beautifully written and Aadhya managed to bring it out from paper to screen. The young actor is also the narrator of the show and does a great job in it too.
While talking about Bombay Begums, we definitely have to circle back to Pooja Bhatt, because she showed how she can hold the scene after many years. The actor knows what she has signed up for and small and important nuances like hot flashes at the descent of menopause, covering wrinkles under the eye and more will make you just look at her constantly. Bombay Begums is Pooja Bhatt all the way and there are no second thoughts about it.
Alankrita Shrivastava with six episodes covered all important topics about 'smashing the patriarchy' from #MeToo, women's sexual desires to choosing career over parenthood and more.
Bombay Begums is Pooja Bhatt all the way with great support and amazing performances by Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur and Aadhya Anand.
