Nishtha's movie review: Queen

I happened to catch up on the movie "Queen" this weekend. Before the movie had released, I had very low expectations from the film. In fact, considering that I never really liked Kangana Ranaut and add to it the tackiest name imaginable for a movie, I had expected the movie to be a badly made and / or a sleazy kind of a movie. But kudos to director Vikas Bahl, because Queen is anything but that.

Like I mentioned, I had very low expectations from the movie and I had gone only after hearing / reading fabulous film reviews and word-of-mouth appreciation. And I really liked the movie. It is not a grand affair, so you will not get to see any designer clothes, eloquent sets, professional dancers, and starry big actors. This is a low-budget movie set and shot in by-lanes of Delhi, then Paris and then Amsterdam. But, don't be fooled by hearing about Paris and Amsterdam. Like I mentioned, it has been shot in it's by-lanes. So, you will not get to see the grandeur of these cities, but you will get the feel of how middle class people live and tour in small hotels / student hostels etc. which forms the crux of the movie where the character played by Kangana Ranaut learns to cope all by herself. The film belongs to her and she carries it with flair on her petite shoulders.

Overall, I liked the film for following reasons:

1.       Great Performances. There are no over the top performances. The acting is top-notch, natural and effortless by all actors be it Indian or foreigner; one with the lead role or supporting role. Although Lisa Hayden also excels in her small role, but Kangana is the soul of the film. She brings Rani alive and symbolises hundreds of Indian girls belonging to and brought up in the protective shell called the Indian Joint family. Rajkummar Rao as Vijay is also a natural. He could be any boy next door who woos a girl, proposes to her and then develops cold feet at the time of marriage. He could be any male child brought up in a male patriarch system who think of himself as modern and liberal without even realising that domination, in whichever degree and form, comes naturally to him and is in-built in his nature. Again, truly symbolising the hundreds of males in the Indian society who propagate women's rights but when it comes to their homes, they expect their wives to simply abide by their wishes at all times and conduct themselves in the way they wish.

2.       The plot. Like I said above, the plot is very simple and director Vikas Bahl doesn't let the focus shift from the progression the lead protagonist is going through. Although he shoots in two of the most sought after tourist destinations including Paris, known as one of the prettiest and most romantic cities in the world, he refrains from using camera-time to capture scenic beauty or sights and sounds of the cities and instead focusses on the narrow lanes and sidewalks more likely to be where a coy homely girl from Delhi, a clear misfit in the city inhabited by heavily made-up and outgoing womenfolk, would like to get lost away from the crowds and limelight. The music is also apt for the film. While 'London thumakda' is a peppy number sure to be replayed in all weddings at least for the next year, the songs 'Gujariya' and the revamped 'Hungama ho gaya' are very situational and yet very pleasing to the ears.

3.       Coming of age film. We have seen coming of age films earlier. Be it Lakshya or Wake Up Sid or even Dil Chahta Hai, Rock On! and Zindagi naa milegi dobara. We all loved these movies. They are all movies that show their protagonists "growing up" and becoming mature responsible people. But the other thing that is common between these movies is that they are all movies about boys / men. Not a single coming of age movie comes to my mind which has female protagonist(s). There have been attempts before where the movies have shown coy women tackling difficult situations and coming on top, but they have all ended up as feminist movies showing empowerment of women instead of the simple coming of age movies (e.g. Khoon bhari maang, Shakti, Anjaam, etc.). So this movie is a refreshing change.

4.       No clichés. This film avoids clichés, which is nice. So, it doesn't show that the bridegroom-to-be falls for a 'gori mem' or some other modern girl and that is why leaves our coy homely girl. He simply develops cold feet which is still seemingly believable in the movie. Then, there is no sudden realisation on the girl that she needs to change and she doesn't just simply gets a make-over and becomes fiercely independent. The transformation is gradual. There is a heartbreak but she slowly learns to live with it. She slowly realises that her life is not just about being married to that guy and becoming a housewife. Having said that, another cliché that this movie avoids is showing the coy girl transformed into an independent women as having a drastic change in lifestyle. I like the fact that this film doesn't show that an independent woman and a woman who parties hard, drinks, smokes and has sex at the drop of a hat are synonymous. It doesn't promote that independence means doing all that because independence is actually a state of mind. It doesn't say that you come of age when you start doing all that. The day you start understanding that you are capable of taking your own decisions, deciding for yourself what you want to do with your life, stop relying of others for your individual choices and basically stop judging everyone because of their individual choices; you come of age; you become independent.

5.       The message. The message is the highlight of the film. It is not just for the womenfolk but also for the men. The film gives the message that you should not be dependent on others for your happiness. Your happiness is actually in your hands and it is basically a choice that you have to make for yourself. How true.

So, I would highly recommend this movie to everyone to watch at least once. I hope you take the happiness with you when you walk out of the movie hall.