I had a good team of warriors: Srijit Mukherji
Film-maker Srijit Mukherji’s Begum Jaan, the Hindi adaptation of his Bengali film Rajkahini (2015), was shot in Dumka district, Jharkhand. It was not an easy film to shoot , due to the erratic weather conditions and the remote location. However, the makers are extremely impressed with the passion and dedication showed by the entire team, during the month-long outdoor schedule.
Srijit says, “We faced bipolar, schizophrenic weather. One moment it used to rain and the next moment, the sun was shining bright. Seven days into building the set, it was demolished by a huge thunderstorm. Also there were a lot of physical injuries. Every day, someone or the other was getting hurt or fainting. There were snakes and scorpions outside the set. But whatever the adversities may have been, all my team literally gave their blood and sweat to the film. Shooting Begum Jaan was almost like fighting a war and I had a good team of warriors.”
Vidya Balan, who plays the protagonist in the film, says, “There were a lot of problems but Srijit’s team was so well prepared that we shot the film in record 34 days. Those difficulties actually brought us closer to function like a family much like in the film, where the characters have their differences but when a crisis comes, they all get together and fight back.”
Shooting Begum Jaan was almost like fighting a war and I had a good team of warriors SRIJIT MUKHERJI, FILM-MAKER