Visually, Begum Jaan is a beautiful movie. Shot almost entirely in an old haveli in Jharkhand that lends it a real period flavor, the movie has great locales. In my mind, that's a major plus point since these days movies seem to shot mostly in touristy locales outside India (usually as part of a promotional effort by the country's tourist board). The other great thing about this movie is its ensemble cast. Such a pleasure to watch stalwarts Naseeruddin Shah, Ila Arun, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vivek Mushran, Chunkey Pandey and Ranjit Kappor again after all this time. They've all changed so much, but are still very watchable in this film. Begum Jaan has a story that makes for melodrama and the director hasn't tried to steer away from it. It's over the top in places, but hey, if you're telling a story of prostitutes caught up in the partition saga, it's allowed. I went to see it on a Thursday, the last day before it made way for new releases, and the hall was fairly full. Encouraging. Hope we get more movies like this in the future.