8 life lessons from Pooja Bhatt starrer Bombay Begums

Netflix’s six-part series, Bombay Begums, stars Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur, and Aadhya Anand in lead roles. The series focuses on bringing these five women together irrespective of their background and highlights their struggles, aspirations, and desires.

The series tracks each characters’ journey of love, self-exploration, and discovery and teaches us a few lessons along the way.

1. Be your own person

Rani, played by Pooja Bhatt, is the CEO of the Royal Bank of Bombay and has worked her way to the top with hard work and dedication. Majority of the series witnesses her standing up for herself, and the ideas she believes are best suited for the business. She is often seen opposing her colleagues and holding her own in male-dominated boardrooms. She faces heaps of discrimination just because she’s a woman and fights through it all. She even goes on to expose her former mentor who’d abused her early on in her career. Her words to her daughter, “Own your art for yourself, not for another man” mark a significant moment in the series.

2. It’s alright for women to put their career first

Shahana Goswami, who plays the role of Fatima, is a rising star at the Royal Bank of Bombay. She is ambitious and is married to a colleague and fights numerous battles between her personal and professional life. Later, when the couple is trying to conceive, Fatima’s husband expects her to bid farewell to her career to care for their child. However, as the series progresses, Fatima decides that she does not wish to commit to something she does not believe in and takes the bold step of choosing her career over starting a family. Her character inspires women everywhere to break the mould society expects them to fit into.

3. Don’t feel guilty about your success

Fatima, second in command to Rani, works tirelessly and makes great strides in her career. When offered a prestigious promotion, she is faced with a dilemma and hides the news from her male colleagues and mentors. Although she feels guilty about accepting the promotion at the cost of starting a family, she comes into her own and carries out her duties with diligence and poise.

4. Nobody’s perfect

If you have watched the series, you know that each character has flaws and weak spots. None of the characters are perfect, and they have made their peace with the fact. This is a rare trope seen in Indian series and it is indeed a refreshing one.

5. Accept yourself

Ayesha, played by Plabita Borthakur, is in awe of successful women like Rani and Fatima around her. The character of Ayesha beautifully captures the process of her sexual awakening and coming to terms with her sexuality. Her background and economic status bring a sense of vulnerability and power to her role and make her who she is.

6. Empowered women empower women

Ayesha faces sexual harassment at the hands of a senior at the Royal Bank of Bombay and speaks to Rani and Fatima about her experience. When they urge her to brush the matter under the carpet, Ayesha decides to risk her future at the Bank to stand up for herself. She files an official complaint against the senior without falling prey to the power he holds over her career. It is her passion and conviction that gives the independent and strong Rani the extra push she needed to call out and expose her mentor, who put her in the same situation years ago.

7. It’s never too late to change your way of life

Lilly, played by Amruta Subhash, is a sex worker who must provide for her son. In a strange turn of events, Rani funds the factory Lilly wishes to establish, to turn her life around. She wishes to employ women like herself in the factory, so they can all live a dignified life, free of the prejudice and shame that comes with being a sex worker in Mumbai. Her dedication and resilience to change her way of life and help others in the process are commendable, making her one of the strongest women in the show.

8. Women are a force to be reckoned with

Bombay Begums mocks the damsel in distress trope that has been perpetuated over centuries. The series acknowledges the obstacles and struggles women face but also shows us the battle they fight to get what they deserve. It teaches us that women can be ambitious and work tirelessly towards their goals regardless of their age, gender, social or financial status.