Created by the director of ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ and ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare’, Alankrita Shrivastava’s six-part series, ‘Bombay Begums’, also co-written by Bornila Chatterjee, revolves around five women who navigate through life juggling between ambition and validation, seeking identities and finding their place beneath the sun.

Former bank teller from Kanpur, Rani (Pooja Bhatt) is now the CEO of the reputed Royal Bank of Bombay. Poised to perfection, her designer wardrobe conceals the scars harboured over the years, personally and professionally. Discerning male colleagues are waiting for her to mess up while she pines for approval from her stepchildren.

When offered a promotion, Fatima Warsi has to contemplate between moving up the ladder and embracing motherhood. Her husband Arijay Sinha (Vivek Gomber) has pretty much concluded that she will focus all her attention on their baby and put her career on hold.

Bar dancer turned sex worker Lakshmi Gondhali aka Lily’s (Amruta Subhash) dreams of securing a sound education for her son outweigh her reality. 
A young B-school graduate from Indore, Ayesha Agarwal (Plabita Borthakur) wants to chart a successful career for herself in the big city of dreams, while also discovering life beyond her limitations.

Reclusive and reticent, 13-year old Shai (Aadhya Anand) wants to grow up sooner like many her age wish to. 

Shrivastava’s script can get inconsistent and excruciatingly testing, but she is uncompromising on how are women are presented. Charming and cold, confused and cunning, the women of ‘Bombay Begums’ are a fascinating watch. They refuse to adhere to your expectations of how women must behave. As much different as they may seem from each other, their gaze and their strive to constantly ward off the detracting patriarchy keeps them together. But what I particularly applaud about the show is that it does not shy away from portraying how women can also be their worst enemies. In the post #MeToo era, where women are championing for each other, encouraging one another to come forward and share their stories, ‘Bombay Begums’ also unmasks how women are pretty much responsible for the rampant misogyny. Another impressive factor that stood out for me was how the titles of each episode are derived from the best works of fiction penned by the likes of Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf and Alice Walker. 

For those who relish fine performances ‘Bombay Begums’ is a feast. Heading from the front is Bhatt as the steely, determined Rani. It’s a roaring return for the actress who owns the boardroom but falters when it comes to the matters of the heart. Goswami brings a quiet grace to a character who is conflicted between desire and responsibility. Subhash is a scene-stealer as Lily who will go to any lengths for her child. Borthakur may leave you thinking that Ayesha is stupid and confused, yet you can’t help but empathise with her ways. Finally, Anand perfectly puts across the trappings of teenaged life as the young Shai. 
Though, I wish the characters of the men were also as fleshed out. Thankfully, they all aren’t entirely unlikeable. For a change, I’m happy to see a work of fiction about women that doesn’t necessarily paint the ‘all men are bad’ stroke. 

If not for the see-sawed storytelling, ‘Bombay Begums’ makes for an engaging watch.