Story:
Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is a young Delhi girl who is getting married in 3 days. The movie commences with her mehendi ceremony following which her London returned fiance Vijay (Rajkumar Rao) calls off the wedding. Initially dumbfounded and heartbroken, Rani goes on her pre-booked honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam absolutely alone. Initially out of place and puzzled, Rani begins a journey towards self discovery and eventual self confidence that years of being under restrained atmosphere had eroded. Her wild reckless adventure to happy memories to newer learnings, join in Rani’s journey towards finding absolute, undiluted and independent happiness.
*Analysis:*
Queen
While coming to the storyline there isn’t much of a script. If Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth wasn’t as hittingly structured, it would have been Queen. Of course that doesn’t mean that I tried to downplay either, on the contrary merely cite differences in terms of storytelling. While Bhatt had involved himself in a social commentary.of the aggressively patriotic kingdom of thinking, Bahl maintains his focus at the self evolution of a person who has a beaten self confidence, abandoned a day in precedence of the wedding by his long time fiance. She has firmly fixed in her the standard middle class responsiveness that she has been socialized to believe are the norm unquestioningly. She is no insurrectionist at the same time has no uneasy feeling about not being one. And yet when she suffers from a seething heartbreak, she goes alone on her pre-booked honeymoon. It might sound unbelievable to most, yet perhaps that’s what Bahl is intending to convey. Our Indian mindset is instrumental in making us fall in the idea of love more than the object of affection. At the same time it is a everlasting problem that Queen delicately brings out. Rani is so much in love with the idea of her honeymoon that she moves on a journey alone even when the girl can hardly cross a road alone.
The story opens with a wedding ceremony and an adorable bride you’ll take an instant liking to. There is an immense delight factor in how the script is written. It is relatively plain and without the needless airs(read melodrama) you would anticipate. Just as you begin to pity her, the story ups itself for the better losing itself in the bylanes of Paris and Amsterdam, with Kangana’s rolling eyes doing more of the talking than her. The girl’s childlike innocence is hard to miss as there is more of care than judgement in the way she advises her new found friend about not indulging in casual sex or as she compliments a stripper on how well she dances. Even the silent dinner she eats all by herself, with the eye popping out, off the fish, is metaphorical in its tone.
Yet the delightful moments are when Kangana vents herself out after bearing through a hard night, under the spell of alcohol. The intoxication makes her bold and she manages to exhibit more hues of her real self than her silently restrained atmosphere back home had allowed her in her entire life. It is from that wild beginning that Rani commences her journey towards self analysis and eventual learning. I am glad the writers did not dilute the story with silly and predictable romance angle and kept it sweet in just the correct measure.
To emphasize ofcourse, when it comes to how the story concludes, I don’t think there could have been a more suitable climax written for a film of this expression. Rani attains an eventual carte blanch of sorts and yet is it less emphatic and more filled with life and energy to see the final canter.
Performance:
Queen-review Kangana Ranaut delivers a performance that marks her lightyears ahead of any of her contemporaries. She conveys most through her pitch-perfect body language. The surprises and the shocks, the ecstasy and the confidence is all brought out by her non verbal mannerisms. It boasts of quite a caliber when an actor says more by her silence than by her dialogues. At the same time even in her dialogues she gets the right tonality for it all. ‘Queen‘ might be the birth of a legend and thank God for that!
Lisa Haydon is breathtakingly gorgeous and just as good an actor expressing with a natural flair all that she has been entrusted with.
The other actors are all superbly cast and they all play a splendid role in making the film’s intensity as well as the look and feel elevate.
Final Word: Queen Movie Review ‘Queen‘ is easily one of the most accomplished films made in a long time. The skillful direction of Vikas accompanied by Kangana’s easy artistry makes this one an easygoing affair. For the constant smile that it left on my face, the hiccups were all forgettable. I am going with 4 star.
I would mention favourably that you must not miss fantabulous “Queen”. Yet don’t forget to share with us your experience of watching Queen. Have a great experience! Queen Releases on 7th March 2014.
(AW:SB)