When a movie features Vidya Balan, one expects a lot from it. The actress is undoubtedly a powerhouse of talent but a poorly-directed film can easily sweep away the attention from a flawless performer. With ‘Begum Jaan’, director Srijit Mukherjee remakes his Bengali film ‘Rajkahini’ that starred Rituparna Sen Gupta in the lead role.
Begum Jaan ( Vidya Balan) owns a brothel and looks after it with the help of the King ( Naseeruddin Shah) . The ruthless king in return sleeps around with every single girl of the brothel. Amma ( Ila Arun) , Gulabo ( Pallavi Sharda) , Rubina ( Gauahar Khan) and Shabnam ( Mishti Chakravarthy) live with Begum Jaan in her brothel. They all live a happy life until India becomes independent in 1947.
Soon after, their lives change upside down. In the meantime, Mr. Srivastava ( Ashish Vidyarthi) and Ilias ( Rajit Kapoor) order Begum Jaan to vacate the brothel to draw the Indo-Pak border through it. Begum Jaan refuses to do so and the two tough officials appoint a local goon Kabir ( Chunky Panday) to vacate the brothel in a months time. What happens next forms the rest of the plot of the film. Will Begum Jaan vacate the brothel or continue staying there and fight for her rights?