Bombay Begums Web Series Review: Alankrita Shrivastava-Pooja Bhatt's Show Celebrates A Blend Of Real Women
Bombay Begums follows five women who start out lost in their own journeys but after experiencing each other's ordeals and seeing a bit of themselves in others, they come together and begin to uplift each other
Star
Cast:
Pooja
Bhatt,
Shahana
Goswami,
Amruta
Subhash
Director:
Alankrita
Shrivastava
Duration:
6
Episodes
/
40
minutes
Language:
Hindi
Story:
Netflix
describes
the
show
as,
"From
boardrooms
to
society's
margins,
five
ambitious
women
from
various
walks
of
life
navigate
dreams,
desires
and
disappointments
in
modern
Mumbai."
Review:
Bombay
Begums
follows
five
women
who
start
out
lost
in
their
own
journeys
but
after
experiencing
each
other's
ordeals
and
seeing
a
bit
of
themselves
in
others,
they
come
together
and
begin
to
uplift
each
other.
In
the
first
episode,
Alankrita
Shrivastava
sets
the
simple,
real
and
fast-paced
tone
for
the
show.
We
are
introduced
to
Rani
(Pooja
Bhatt),
the
CEO
of
Royal
Bank
of
Bombay,
who
used
to
be
a
bank
teller
in
Kanpur
and
now
heads
a
major
financial
institution.
The
rest
of
the
episode
quickly
glances
through
the
other
protagonists'
lives
-
Fatima
(Shahana
Goswami),
Ayesha
(Plabita
Borthakur),
and
Lily
(Amruta
Subhash).
Fatima
is
offered
the
bank's
deputy
managing
director
position
but
is
wary
to
accept
it
because
of
her
husband
and
the
upcoming
baby.
Ayesha
from
Indore
is
an
ambitious
employee
who
gets
fired
by
Fatima
but
is
given
a
chance
by
Rani
to
work
in
the
bank's
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
division.
Meanwhile,
Rani's
stepson
injures
Lily,
a
bar
dancer
turned
sex
worker's
son
in
a
road
accident.
Lily
then
blackmails
Rani,
aiming
for
a
life
of
respect
so
her
son
can
have
a
respectable
future.
Last
but
not
the
least,
Rani's
stepdaughter,
Shai
(Aadhya
Anand),
who
is
the
series'
voiceover
and
conscience,
is
eager
to
become
a
woman
and
lose
herself
in
love.
The
show
offers
a
good
mix
of
well-represented
realistic
characters.
The
story
does
not
shy
away
from
being
dramatic
but
certainly
embraces
all
the
teenage
cringe,
the
conscious
adult
mistakes
and
the
confusion
that
comes
with
it.
The
show
hooks
you
with
the
ladies
fighting
against
the
world,
halfway
through
the
six-part
series,
you
realise
they
are
a
part
of
the
world
against
them.
By
the
end
of
the
show,
Pooja
Bhatt's
character
even
agrees,
she
says
"We
are
part
of
the
problem."
The
screenplay
is
bland
and
without
any
big
moments,
but
the
cinematography
and
the
performances
make
up
for
it.
All
five
of
the
leading
ladies
shine
in
their
own
key
moments
and
also
while
sharing
screen
space.
One
of
the
best
parts
of
the
show
is,
Shai's
(Aadhya
Anand)
narration
as
she
describes
the
characters
and
the
situation
in
poems.
The
teenager's
philosophical
commentary
on
her
own
life
also
runs
in
tune
with
the
adults,
who
have
lost
themselves
busy
surviving
the
cat
and
mouse
game.
On
the
other
hand,
the
male
characters
in
the
show
contribute
very
little
and
for
once
that
is
not
a
bad
thing.
Overall,
Bombay
Begums
will
turn
the
world
against
you
from
under
you
to
show
you
the
mirror.
As
much
as
the
story
may
seem
in
the
audience's
face,
the
subject
is
such
that
it
needs
to
be.