Review: Colors’ Bahu Begum is a Sublime Blend of Love, Culture, Rituals & Politics!

Colors TV launched their much-awaited love story, Bahu Begum yesterday. The show features actors Arjit Taneja, Samiksha Jaiswal and Daina Khan in the lead roles as well as actors Simone Singh, Supriya Shukla, Mohammad Nazim, Amrapali Gupta and Rehaan Roy in important roles. Helmed by Prateek Sharma’s LSD Films, the plot of this show is based in Bhopal and revolves around the Nawab family of the city and the polity and love associated to the central characters of the show. 

Bahu Begum is a love triangle between Azaan Akhtar Mirza, Noor Ibrahim and Shayra. 

The show has replaced Contiloe Pictures’ Khoob Ladi Mardaani: Jhansi Ki Rani that featured actress Anushka Sen in the titular role and will air from Monday to Friday at 9:30 PM. We are presenting a quick review of the show to help you decide if you must give it a try or not, so keep reading on...

Plot:

The show starts with a short title track and afterwards we get a glimpse of the royal Pasa and the royal concept of Nawabs. Bahu Begum is introduced by giving a periodic reference. Yasmin is seen taking the royal Pasa for the Bahu Begum of Bhopal, Razia Akhtar Mirza who is getting ready to welcome her dearest son whom she will be meeting after five long years. Razia and Yasmin share a friendly emotional moment that hints at their friendly relationship and also points towards something from the past. In no time, we are introduced to Noor who has been selected by Razia for her son Azaan- the to be Nawab of Bhopal.

Noor is seen as a chirpy and bubbly girl who is happy to be the would-be Bahu Begum, she tries keeping the royal poise but her bubbliness evokes her to commit small mistakes, she mistakenly slaps someone but after realizing her mistake she apologizes to the Lord in the Dargah. Here we are introduced to Shayra who is a simple and well-learned girl. For the first time in the Dargah, Shayra and Noor have a face-off. Noor is seen boasting about she being the future Bahu Begum. Meanwhile, we get a vision of Asgar Khan and his wife Suraiya. They are seen against the decision of making Noor the Bahu Begum.

Razia, on the other hand, is extremely happy to have her son back. She distributes gifts. In the Dargah we are introduced to Azaan Mirza who shares an emotional moment with his mother. But, then there is a small spat between Razia’s maid’s husband and Azaan because the man disrespects Razia. Azaan gets into fight with him. Shayra enters and stops him. Later, Shayra makes a big revelation to Razia that she and Azaan are in love with each other. An agitated Razia gives back saying she has already decided Azaan’s Begum. The episode ends with Noor sobbing after hearing that Shayra and Azaan are in love with each other.

Performance:

The show starts with a powerful entry of Simone Singh as the Bahu Begum and the graph has been maintained by all the characters till the end of the episode. Supriya Shukla has outshined her character and looks appealing. Talking about the leads- Arjit, Samiksha and Daina, they have inherited traits from their characters really well. Samiksha is shining as Noor, Daina, on the other hand, is looking perfectly calm and composed. We think Arjit could have been angrier when Razia was insulted in front of everyone in the Dargah scene. Mohammad Nazim and Amrapali had sparse scenes in the first episode but their body language and the style of saying dialogues have subtly established their grey shades.

We have a special mention for Samiksha as she has essayed Noor really well. Overall, everyone looks appealing and play their part with a natural ease.

Direction and Cinematography:

The introduction scene of Razia, as well as Noor, were the highlights. The shot where the Razia is distributing gifts to her staff has an aesthetic royal appeal. The countdown made by Shayra to stop Azaan from hitting a maid’s husband was an 'aww 'moment and showcases their love for each other really well. Azaan and Shayra’s entry could have been a little better though.

Screenplay and Background Score:

Speaking about the screenplay, we see that the makers have taken special care to make the scenes look aesthetic and royal, which is a perfect match to the theme. The blend of Urdu and Hindi is kept simple and easy for the audience to understand the language. The addition of shayaris is cherry on the cake. (This earns a 'waah-waah' from us!) We love the dialogue delivery also, it doesn’t seem forced at all, it’s all natural and in the flow.

With respect to the background score, we cannot fail to mention the background music of Noor (aaye haaye Noori…) It has a grin worthy effect. Otherwise, the qawaali played as background music suited the storytelling. 

Set Design and Costume:

We heart the set as well as costume design of the show. The people involved in these departments have taken special care to make the show look lively and royal. But there’s one thing we’d want to mention, in the scene where Razia is giving gifts to her staff, there is no proper contrast between the set design and the colour of their costume. It’s too white, some royal blues, yellows, reds, maroons and oranges could have added more to the appeal of the show. The jewellery too is finely designed and is gelling with the costume. Special mention to the royal Pasha of the Bahu Begum. 

High Point:

These days not many shows have a title track being played at the beginning of the show. Bahu Begum started off with a title track and it had our heart at that. We have praises for the makers to brighten the show with the title track and serving us nostalgia in the process. Razia’s royal entry hit the right chord and the show became worth watching from the first scene itself. And yes, Azaan’s dialogue where he said he can’t tolerate three things, viz. anything against- religion, country and his mother; was yet another attraction.

Verdict:

According to us, Bahu Begum is a royally draped love story that will bring the concept of polygamy into the limelight. The show has several hidden truths too which will get uncovered in the coming episodes. There is a political tiff between Asgar and Razia which even though not is in the forefront but will be highlighted in the coming episodes, we feel. Concludingly, we’d say, if you’re a fan of royalty as well as love stories then you shouldn’t miss Bahu Begum. The show is a perfect blend of culture, rituals, love and politics; and its intriguing storyline will keep you hooked.

Ratings:

4 Stars (****)