Five feisty women and their battles

Bombay Begums’ explores the journey of five women who confront prejudices and question patriarchy.

From boardrooms to the streets, the characters walk through dreams, desires and disappointments in Mumbai.

Rani (Pooja Bhatt) controls a business empire while grappling with her romantic desire. Fatima (Shahana Goswami), a professional, battles with pressure at work while struggling with work-life balance.

A prostitute, Lily (Amruta Subhash), wants to give the best in life to her son and struggles to set up a factory. Ayesha (Plabita Borthakur), a single professional, is confused about how to rise up the ladder at work. She is also confused about her sexuality.

The narrator of the series is the youngest of the characters — Shai (Aadhya Anand), a teenager and Rani’s step-daughter.

Pooja Bhatt and Shahana pull off their characters with much ease. Amruta is convincing as Lily the prostitute, desperate to survive. Aadhya reminds people of their own teen confusions.

The struggles shown in ‘Bombay Begums’ are real. The series drops one-liners that intend to generate discussions. Alankrita Shrivastava, the director of ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ tries again to portray women’s suppression with everyday stories.

The film has too many love-making scenes, probably to show the struggle between desire and ‘what is right’. The dialogues come across as artificial.

The good part of the show is that ‘successful’ women in all their glory and strength are also shown as flawed individuals, with their share of weaknesses.