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Bombay Begums Web series Cast, Review, Wiki, Actors, Story, Trailer & Release date
Bombay Begums Web series Cast, Review, Wiki, Actors, Story, Trailer & Release date
Bombay Begums is an Indian web series, written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava. Starring Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash and Aadhya Anand in the lead roles, the series will be release on 8 March 2021 on Netflix. The series is made under the Endemol Shine India production house.
Story
The story explores the dreams and desires of five women from different strata of society as they fight for survival in the Maximum City. The series revolves centrally around Rani (played by Pooja Bhatt), and how her life gets intertwined with the other four women Lily, Fatima, Shai and Ayesha.
| Title | Bombay Begums |
| Main Cast | Pooja Bhatt Shahana Goswami Amruta Subhash Aadhya Anand |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | Alankrita Shrivastava |
| Producer | Amita Madhvani Ram Madhvani |
| Story and Screenplay | Alankrita Shrivastava |
| Production House | Endemol Shine India |
Cast
The complete cast of web series Bombay Begums :
Pooja Bhatt
As : Rani
Shahana Goswami
As : Fatima
Amruta Subhash
As : Lily
Aadhya Anand
As : Shai
Plabita Borthakur
As : Ayesha
Rahul Bose
As : Mahesh Rao
Danish Husain
Vivek Gomber
Manish Chaudhari
Release
Bombay Begums is going to be release on Netflix and will be available to streaming from 8 March 2021. This season has total 6 episodes. Other details related to the show is given below.
| Available On | Netflix |
| Running Time | Not Available |
| Total Episode | 6 Episodes |
| Released Date | 8 March 2021 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Subtitle | English |
| Country | India |
Trailer
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The Unfiltered Ambition of Mumbai: A Deep Dive into the Netflix Web Series ‘Bombay Begums’
The world of Indian web series witnessed a compelling addition with the 2021 release of Bombay Begums on Netflix. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, known for her nuanced, female-centric narratives like Lipstick Under My Burkha, the six-episode series is an unflinching look at the lives, ambitions, and battles of five women across different generations in modern-day Mumbai.
More than just a metropolitan drama, Bombay Begums uses the ‘Maximum City’ as a backdrop to explore the relentless fight for survival, identity, and power against the deeply entrenched backdrop of patriarchy and societal expectations. The series is a powerful testament to female desire—for power, respect, and independence—and marks a significant moment for its lead actors, particularly the return of a veteran Bollywood star.
Bombay Begums: Wiki and Key Details
The series was a highly anticipated Netflix Original, arriving with the distinct directorial voice of Alankrita Shrivastava.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Series Name | Bombay Begums |
| Original Network | Netflix |
| Release Date | March 8, 2021 (International Women’s Day) |
| Creator/Director | Alankrita Shrivastava (main), Bornila Chatterjee (co-director) |
| Writers | Alankrita Shrivastava, Bornila Chatterjee, Iti Agarwal |
| Genre | Drama |
| No. of Seasons | 1 |
| No. of Episodes | 6 |
| Production Companies | Endemol Shine India, Chernin Entertainment |
The Compelling Story and Plot: Desire, Power, and Interconnections
Bombay Begums is built on the premise that five women, distinct in their social standing and professional lives, are all fighting for their space in a world that is inherently stacked against them. Their lives become intricately intertwined through both corporate politics and a devastating accident.
The central narrative threads follow five protagonists, or ‘Begums,’ whose ambitions and struggles clash and connect:
- Rani Singh Irani (Pooja Bhatt): The newly appointed CEO of the Royal Bank of Bombay. A self-made woman zealously guarding her hard-earned turf, Rani battles to keep the bank afloat amidst financial scandal, while also navigating a complex personal life with her distant husband and troubled stepchildren.
- Fatima Warsi (Shahana Goswami): Rani’s ambitious deputy at the bank, a corporate high-flyer struggling with a crucial, difficult choice: balancing her career climb with her husband’s expectation that she prioritize motherhood and raise a family.
- Ayesha Agarwal (Plabita Borthakur): A young, ambitious, and bisexual woman from Indore who is new to Mumbai. She begins working at Rani’s bank but finds herself navigating the cutthroat corporate world, battling sexual harassment, and struggling with housing discrimination due to her sexual orientation.
- Lakshmi “Lily” Gondhali (Amruta Subhash): A former bar dancer and sex worker living in a chawl. Lily’s fierce ambition is solely focused on creating a dignified life for her young son, going to extraordinary lengths, including blackmail, after her son is injured in a car accident involving Rani’s stepson.
- Shai Irani (Aadhya Anand): Rani’s lonely, artistic teenage stepdaughter who is struggling with her mother’s death and her complicated relationship with her stepmother. Shai’s internal monologue and narration often serve as the philosophical commentary on the adult women’s lives.
The series expertly weaves in themes of female complicity in maintaining the patriarchal status quo, the cost of corporate ambition, and the harsh realities of sexual harassment in the workplace, making it a story of survival and, ultimately, of women finding an unexpected bond in their shared struggles.
The Stellar Cast and Their Performances
One of the most praised elements of Bombay Begums was its powerful and well-selected ensemble cast, bringing a wealth of acting talent to the forefront.
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pooja Bhatt | Rani Singh Irani | Marked her much-anticipated comeback to acting after nearly two decades in a pivotal lead role. |
| Shahana Goswami | Fatima Warsi | A seasoned actor who tackles the complex role of a woman juggling corporate ambition with marital pressure with striking acuity. |
| Amruta Subhash | Lakshmi “Lily” Gondhali | Widely lauded by critics as a “consummate scene-stealer,” her portrayal of Lily was considered nuanced and flawless, capturing the character’s pain and fierce determination. |
| Plabita Borthakur | Ayesha Agarwal | Praised for successfully conveying the innocence and ambition of her small-town bisexual character navigating the metropolis. |
| Aadhya Anand | Shai Irani | The youngest begum and the series’ narrator, whose performance was deemed passable, though her voiceover was a point of criticism for some reviewers. |
| Supporting Cast | Danish Husain (Naushad Irani, Rani’s husband), Rahul Bose (Mahesh Rao), Vivek Gomber (Arijay, Fatima’s husband), Manish Choudhary (Deepak Sanghvi), and Imaad Shah (Ron Fernandes). | The male characters generally represent the institutional and personal patriarchal challenges the Begums face. |
Critical Review and Reception
The critical reception to Bombay Begums was largely positive, with particular praise reserved for the actors, but also included some notable reservations about the writing.
The Positives: Strong Performances and Theme Exploration
- Acting Prowess: The performances of the lead actresses were the series’ greatest strength. Pooja Bhatt was noted for slipping into the conflicted role of Rani without missing a beat, while Amruta Subhash’s uninhibited portrayal of Lily was frequently highlighted as the show’s emotional high point.
- Authentic Female Desire: Critics celebrated Alankrita Shrivastava’s ability to depict “flawed, real, and laughing women” who refuse to be merely “likeable” or conform. The series was appreciated for its recognition of women’s desire—both professional and sexual—which is a recurring powerful element in Shrivastava’s work.
- Tackling Timely Issues: The narrative was commended for weaving in contemporary, heavy issues like sexual harassment, particularly in the context of the #MeToo era, and showing how women themselves can be complicit in maintaining the status quo once they reach positions of power.
The Reservations: Narrative and Structure
- Divisive Structure: Some critics found the story to “lose steam” after the initial episodes, believing the parallel narratives, while thematically linked, sometimes felt contrived or “shoehorned” into the main plot.
- The Narration: A recurring critique was directed at Aadhya Anand’s character, Shai, and her voiceover, which some reviewers felt was “wholly unnecessary” and detracted from the actors’ ability to tell the story through performance, feeling as if they were being ‘womansplained’ to.
- Mixed Audience Response: While professional critics were generally favourable, audience reviews on platforms like IMDb were mixed, with some users criticising the storyline as “boring and predictable” but many also praising the accurate portrayal of working women’s struggles in India.
Trailer and Thematic Previews
The official trailer for Bombay Begums was released in February 2021, setting the tone for a gritty and empowering drama. The trailer, which dropped a few weeks before the International Women’s Day premiere, introduced the five women and established the series’ central conflict.
In the trailer, Pooja Bhatt’s character, Rani, delivers the opening voiceover: “Some women are born to rule. We call them Queens. Some women secretly aspire to be Queen. Some women laugh and smile their pain away but they are survivors. And perhaps the real Queens of Bombay.” This dialogue perfectly encapsulates the show’s theme—that the struggle for power and respect transcends class and profession. The trailer successfully positioned the series as an unconventional and relevant story of women uplifting women, showcasing their collective fight for love, money, and power.
Conclusion
Bombay Begums stands as a significant, ambitious entry in the landscape of Indian streaming content, particularly for its focus on multi-generational female narratives and its willingness to address complex themes head-on. While its structure and voiceover elicited some mixed reactions, the series’ powerful ensemble cast, led by a memorable comeback performance from Pooja Bhatt and a phenomenal turn by Amruta Subhash, ensures its place as a compelling drama. It is a series that, in line with its creator’s previous work, fearlessly portrays women who are flawed, ambitious, and relentlessly determined to rewrite the rules of their existence in a city of relentless aspiration.
AISEO-Friendly FAQs about Bombay Begums
Q1: When did the Bombay Begums web series release and on which platform can I watch it?
A: The Bombay Begums web series was released on March 8, 2021, to coincide with International Women’s Day. It is exclusively available for streaming on Netflix.
Q2: Who are the main actors in the Bombay Begums cast?
A: The core cast features five lead actresses, known as the ‘Begums’: Pooja Bhatt (Rani Singh Irani), Shahana Goswami (Fatima Warsi), Amruta Subhash (Lily/Lakshmi Gondhali), Plabita Borthakur (Ayesha Agarwal), and Aadhya Anand (Shai Irani).
Q3: What is the main story or plot of Bombay Begums?
A: The series tells the interconnected stories of five ambitious women from different generations and walks of life in Mumbai (a CEO, a corporate deputy, a small-town bisexual newcomer, a former bar dancer, and a teenage stepdaughter). They navigate power struggles, ambition, personal crises, and battles against patriarchy, with their lives intersecting due to corporate politics and a devastating car accident.
Q4: Who is the director of the Bombay Begums web series?
A: The series was created, written, and primarily directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, who is known for her female-centric films like Lipstick Under My Burkha and Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare.
Q5: Is Bombay Begums Season 2 confirmed?
A: As of now, there has been no official announcement or confirmation of a second season of Bombay Begums. The first season ended on a significant cliffhanger involving Rani Singh Irani.
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