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SATURDAY, 13 MARCH 2021 FIRST NEW DELHI 03 ‘Bombay Begums’ ‘Women carry a lot of is at its strongest when its women are forced to confront internalised patriarchy’ their own prejudices Color Purple’ guide your storytelling CONVERSATIONS AT LARGE or were these added later? I had this idea that I would love to name ANINDITA GHOSE the episodes after books by female writers about the female experience. But it was a passing thought. During post-production, s in real life, all the crucial I decided I am going to do it. The titles res- conversations in Bombay onate with what’s happening in the epi- Begums unfold in the ladies sodes. The last one is named after Virginia A restroom. Underneath her Woolf’s A Room Of One’s Own—it’s one of designer linen saris, Rani my favourites and I feel what the book says (Pooja Bhatt), the CEO of a private bank about women having their own space is who was once a “bank teller from Kanpur”, important. characters making conflicting choices. ters. I feel women should be represented in has middle-class values—she isn’t com- ‘Bombay Begums’ picks up many Women carry a lot of internalised patriar- all ways so that we normalise women doing fortable with the domestic staff washing threads from women’s relationships chy and in Bombay Begums I wanted to whatever they want. her lingerie. In easy messaging, we learn with their bodies, to subverting the explore how the characters unlearn that. In Projects with Raveena Tandon and that the “best local broker” is a woman. It evil stepmother cliché, to #MeToo. our heads, there’s so much conditioning Madhuri Dixit Nene have just been is details like this that make Bombay Did you have a checklist of issues you that what you are battling is not just the announced. Do you agree that we are Begums get under your skin. wanted to address? What was the obstacles outside, you are always battling in the midst of a peak with women’s Best known for writing and directing seed? the ideas inside you. stories in India? Is it about more Lipstick Under My Burkha, Alankrita Shriv- The seed of it was when I had a conver- The idea of women as enablers is women as creators or the audience astava’s six-part series, which launched on sation with my mother, who is from IIM tough terrain in a post #MeToo era. appetite changing? Netflix on International Women’s Day on (Indian Institute of Management), One international show that did it well It’s definitely about women being in Monday, follows five urban women from Ahmedabad. She graduated in the late was ‘The Morning Show’ with Jenni- deciding positions. When representation different demographics. The ensemble 1970s. There were 70 people in her batch, fer Aniston. Have you watched that? behind the camera changes, everything cast includes Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Gos- of which four were women. None of them Not yet, it’s on my list. Women have been changes. Many more women are gate- wami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur pursued their corporate careers. My trained to be watchdogs of patriarchy. keepers too—they are running the net- (the girl in the burqa from Lipstick…) and mother entered the development sector, Patriarchy works as the idea of a collective works, green-lighting shows. They see Aadhya Anand. It marks Bhatt’s full- someone else was teaching, etc. That con- of men, the idea that they will back each merit and depth in these stories. fledged return to acting after 20 years. versation stayed with me. It got me think- other, but women are trained to bat against It’s also a reflection of changing audience While Bhatt and Subhash deliver stellar ing about women in the corporate sector, each other. tastes. But with audiences it’s a chicken and performances, Bombay Begums often has about these women being in marriages There has been criticism about the egg story. Audiences have been forced to too many tracks to follow. There’s work- where they have to do well but they want depiction of “progressive” urban consume a male hero narrative because the life balance, infertility, infidelity and the their husbands to do well. I was interested women. The idea that film-makers machinery was like that. idea of motherhood, all stitched together in examining that. take the short-cut of showing women You have made it clear that the idea of with a pretentious teenager’s voice-over. Once I thought of the characters—I Alankrita Shrivastava says she doesn’t like the idea of women being boxed. ARIJAY PRASAD smoking, drinking, using cuss words the male hero does not interest you. The best parts of the show are not when have been incubating this idea since and casual sex. What are your views How did you write the men in this the women battle the external world but 2014—it came to me very instinctively other way around. When we reached out, she was busy work- on this? show? Apart from the character of when they are forced to confront their who these people are. I did want someone It’s not possible to imagine Rani with- ing on Sadak 2. When we met in person, I I get asked that a lot: Why are your Deepak (Manish Chaudhari), all the own prejudices. It is also perhaps India’s at the entry level, someone who is mid-ca- out Pooja Bhatt. I read one interview was just so amazed. She had read all the women smoking and drinking? I think it’s men are unidimensional wimps. I felt first post #MeToo show, though Shrivas- reer, and someone right at the top. The in which you said that you watched material and she responded to it so well. so funny that we never ask that question of sorry for them. tava sees it as “much more than that”. last character that came to me was the sex ‘Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin’ 21 times. She She had the same magic of her youth in our male characters. I feel the question The stories I am telling are from the In a video call, Shrivastava spoke about worker Lily (Subhash)… was busy when you approached her terms of energy, but also vulnerability and itself comes from a very deep-seated patri- POV of the female characters. I don’t have how a conversation with her mother led to Who is completely out of the system, and you changed the schedule to strength. I left that meeting knowing she archal mindset. I have been asked this the space to tell the stories of the men in Bombay Begums, the thrill of casting Pooja so to say? accommodate her? was the one. After that I didn’t meet any question right from when I made my their lives independently. So you only see Bhatt, and how OTT platforms are helping Exactly! I got her in because it was a very It was when my casting director and I other actor and just hoped that she would directorial debut with Turning 30 (2011). I the men in relation to the women. It is def- film-makers serve alternative narratives. sanitised world and I needed a view from were jamming that Pooja Bhatt came up. agree. have never reduced my characters to being initely a conscious thing. It is a female uni- Edited excerpts: another world to reflect on the ethics and She’s someone I have been fond of since my Your ‘begums’ have their contradic- cool just because they are doing a certain verse. dilemmas of this world. I am character- school days—so fresh, so real, so ahead of tions. Was it important for you to thing. I find this question problematic Each of the six episodes take their driven. The moment I start digging into a her time. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was my focus on their ambivalence? because that means somewhere you feel Conversations At Large is a fortnightly titles from iconic feminist literature. character and what’s happening in their go-to video-cassette for the summer holi- Yes, I don’t like the idea of women being women should not be doing something. I interview column. Anindita Ghose is a writer Did books like ‘The Bell Jar’ and ‘The life, it brings up issues, rather than the days. I also loved her in Zakhm and Daddy. boxed. People are never one thing. I enjoy am not a schoolteacher with my charac- and journalist based in Mumbai. Medium Talk More than small talk Addressing consumer needs with thoughful designs and aesthetics Tales from a chef’s road trip ith a keen attention points. 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