Vidya Balan to play brothel madam in Mahesh Bhatt’s next

Mirror was the first to tell you (October 20) that Mahesh Bhatt was all gaga about his latest protégé, Srijit Mukherji's Bengali film, ‘Rajkahini,’ which he will be adapting in Hindi as the National Award-wining director's Bollywood launch. The film will be titled ‘Begum Jaan’ after the main protagonist, the madam of the brothel, and Vidya Balan will be playing this feisty character played by Rituparna Sengupta in the original.
“The re-worked adaptation will see Vidya in the most challenging role of her career.Srijit is by far the most talented filmmaker I've known,” Bhatt told Mirror.
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Set to roll in June, the film follows the after effects of the Partition in Bengal in 1947, delving into the lives of 11 women living in a brothel that finds itself divided by the newly-chalked LOC, with half of the house now in India and the other half in Pakistan. The inmates are being urged to move out but knowing they will be savaged outside these walls they hold firm, despite growing pressure to vacate.
“Like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in their classic films, and my daughter Alia Bhatt in ‘Highway,’ ‘Rajkahini’ has one of the greatest performances by a woman – Rituparna Sengupta. The premise is thrilling and moved me to the core. The Hindi film will feature eight actresses, but will be ruled by Vidya,” says Bhatt.
Vidya admitted to having watched the film and thoroughly enjoying the period drama. “It's a powerful and moving film. Rituparna is wonderful and so is the rest of the cast. It’s easily one of the most interesting scripts I have got so far,” she asserts.
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