There’s a scene where Gauahar tries to explain what a sex worker’s body means to her. She is in love with a man, but in more love with her freedom and aggression to get the justice. Her character Rubina is all sensible but subtle at the same time. For Gauahar, Begum Jaan is a film which carves out the actor in her and present it without any filter. Characters like Begum Jaan make an actress feel powerful and Vidya has made sure she radiates this power on screen, like she did in The Dirty Picture or in Kahaani.Īlso read: Spoiler alert: Not just Padmavati but Vidya Balan’s Begum Jaan also has a strong reference to Rani PadminiĪnother quite prominent characters in the film are that of Gauahar Khan and Chunky Pandey. She has perfect intense expressions when she talks to the officers and perfect pain in her eyes, but pride on her face when she senses what’s the end. Vidya, undoubtedly excels, in what she does. Her fight is not against a few who are forcing her to leave her land, but against patriarchy, for her rights, for equality and for freedom. How can she let such a place to bend down in front of those who divide and rule? She decides to fight with all what she has and with all what she can give. This is the place where she has nurtured these women to be the fighters of their own kinds, a place which is most secured and boasts the colours of happiness and magic. For Begum Jaan, that’s the place where only she has got the right on her body, she will give her body to whoever she wants to. Her kotha (brothel) is her home, the place where she has been selling her body to earn her living. Vidya Balan in a still from song (Courtesy: YouTube/Times Music) So when a Police officer comes to her and calls her a r***i, a pride-filled Begum Jaan says ‘ r***i ko r***i bolna gaali nahi hai, agar police bol diya hota, toh shayad lagta ki gaali hai.’Īlso read: Watch: Vidya Balan on Begum Jaan, Bollywood’s portrayal of sex workers, and ‘not’ being a feminist She has that blunt, on-the-face attitude of giving the naysayers the taste of their own medicine. She might be a sex worker, but she can never be slut-shamed. Vidya Balan, in and as Begum Jaan is, unnecessary to mention, is the soul of the film. While the film questions the very survival of the values of religions, communities and the decisions by the state, what it also hits upon is the gruesome reality of treating women nothing more than sex objects. This saga of partition looks real, because it directly shows its repercussions on women, an evident marginalised section of the society. From the vivacious cruelty of the ones in power to the never-dying spirit of fighting for what’s yours, the film shows the shades of partition which no other Hindi film ever tried to. It’s a no surprise that Begum Jaan is a strongly disturbing film. They don’t belong to a particular state or community, but to their own land, which they refuse to give away. And the ones who are completely unabashed and confident about who they are and where they belong to. The film, which has been directed and released by Sirjit Mukherji tells the story of a group of women sex workers. In my interview with her, Vidya Balan had told me that it’s her who has played Begum Jaan on screen, but a Begum Jaan is there in every woman.
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