Rajkahini 2015

In June 1947, as the British loom over the end of imperial rule and a turbulent partition reshapes a divided Bengal, the film Rajkahini narrows its lens to a stark, lived-in border that cuts through a single brothel. The place houses eleven women and two men, a world unto itself where survival, loyalty, and a fierce sense of belonging collide with politics, violence, and shifting borders. The backdrop is the Radcliffe Line, drawn to separate India and East Pakistan, a line that snakes between Debiganj and Haldibari and touches the lives of everyone who calls this corner of Bengal home.

At the center stands Begum Jaan, Begum Jaan, the brothel’s fearless boss who keeps her house together with grit and a stubborn code of care for her women. By her side is Saleem Mirza, Saleem Mirza, a loyal Pathan bodyguard, and Sujan, Sujan, their capable man-servant and entertainer. The trio’s routine is upended as the political mood darkens and the boundary slices straight through their world, turning a sanctuary into a crossroads of danger and demand.

Across the political spectrum, two men from rival camps step into Begum Jaan’s life. A Congress man and a former friend from childhood, Prophullo Mohan Sen, Prophullo Mohan Sen, and a Muslim League representative, Ilias, travel to Debiganj with a hard proposal: evacuate the brothel and relocate its residents before the line is finalized. Begum Jaan refuses to abandon her whores or cede the space they’ve carved out for themselves, turning the meeting into a stubborn stand for autonomy.

The political chessboard grows more complex when news arrives from Delhi about the Princely States, the Nawab of Rangpur, Nawaab, and his retinue. He is moving westward to what will soon be Indian soil, his status and titles slipping away as the new order takes shape. His visit underscores the broader reality: not only is a border being drawn, but the old hierarchy is undergoing a radical, irreversible transformation. Begum Jaan taps into this mood, deciding to fight on her own terms rather than fold under pressure.

Frustration drives desperate choices. When the pair of men turn to Kabir, Kabir, the head of a criminal gang, Begum Jaan’s world is further destabilized. Kabir and his crew unleash cruelty in the name of upheaval, chasing Sujan and others through the streets and markets until Sujan sacrifices himself to shield the others. The violence reverberates through the brothel and beyond, tightening Begum Jaan’s resolve.

Inside the brothel, Master, Master, schemes to settle a personal score with Begum Jaan by ensnaring a girl. He joins forces with Kabir and the others, complicating the already perilous landscape and forcing Begum Jaan to confront the brutal prices of resistance.

The plan culminates in a furious blaze. Kabir and his gang set fire to Begum Jaan’s house, and the women—trained to shoot—fight back with discipline and courage. Losses mount quickly; Saleem Mirza falls in a brutal, memorable moment that scars Begum Jaan and hardens the rest of the women. The burning building becomes a crucible in which the women test the limits of loyalty, memory, and the will to live in a land that is being redrawn around them.

As the flames rage, those who survive—begun to see themselves as refugees in their own land—make a grim, defiant choice. They enter the inferno together, facing death in their self-styled country, while the story of the legendary Rajput queen Rani Padmini is invoked as a haunting parallel to their stand. The dawn reveals a ruin, a smoldering shell of the brothel, and the characters’ futures left open in the ashes.

In the final tableau, the broken remains of Begum Jaan’s world lie beneath a somber dawn, and the horizon holds the weight of history. A gathering crowd arrives to witness the aftermath of this stubborn stand, as the strains of a national lullaby echo softly in the background, underscoring the film’s meditation on identity, belonging, and the human cost of political realignments.