Queen

8th March is International Women's Day and Queen celebrates it with panache. When Rani played amazingly brilliant by Kangana Ranaut discovers herself on her solo honeymoon trip in Paris and Amsterdam, she comes back to India with a winning smile on her face. The same smile is pasted on your face throughout the movie. There is hardly any feminine emotion left that is not being touched upon in this witty, gritty, funny, emotional and very subtle cinematic portrayal of finding that a woman is more than being a mother, a sister or a wife. The movie talks in the language of love and affection which is not bound by the country in which you were born. All foreign characters here, be it Indian French single mother, the child-like Japanese guy, the European artist, the French restaurant owner or the black guy here play true to their cultures and don't seem fake at all. After Kangana, movie belongs to writer-director Vikas Bahl who shall be remembered now forever for penning this neat story and screenplay flooded with so many fresh and out of box ideas. So don't wait, go and experience the fun (read hungama) with your friends. It is one of the finest cinematic work of Bollywood. Period.

GO and WATCH this movie in theater. Bollywood needs high quality movies like this, which are not only meaningful but also provide full entertainment and fun without appearing pretentious/ fake. These are the kind of movies that need to make money so that producers invest in them.

I feel a bit out-of-league reviewing this movie. When all the movie critics and stalwarts of Bollywood such as Karan Johar and Aamir Khan have highly praised this movie and Kangana Ranaut's performance in almost unanimous voice, it really leaves one with nothing more to say. So I am going to only mention few things in more detail.

Ranaut's performance: One of the best performances to come out of Hindi cinema in several years, this is not about shedding tears, yelling, looking cute/ gorgeous or dancing (which interestingly accounts for "good acting" for most Indian audience). It is marked by subtleties, such as faintly raised eyebrows, shrunk nose, narrowed eyes, aversive gaze, awkwardly positioned arms/ legs, contorted body, crestfallen face, shadow of a smirk, etc. Even when she cries, her wailing makes you wonder if you are really watching an act? Ranaut, who in real life is well-known as a fashionista, has transformed her body language, her mannerisms and her expressions completely for this role. One thing is certain - it is hard to imagine any other actress in this role and hard to imagine this movie without Kangana Ranaut as Rani.

Vikas Bahl's direction: The credit also goes to the director, Vikas Bahl. Without him, the movie could have been a wreck. The movie has a very simple plot and is therefore not an easy story to make a movie with. But Bahl manages to steer clear of all traps for derailment that the story provides. The movie may seem a bit slow in the middle, but then, without sufficient time to develop the emotions and attitude of the character, the movie would not be as effective. He is also one of the very few directors who have managed to utilize Ranaut's potential as an artist. I heard in an interview that Bahl allowed Ranaut creative freedom, allowing her even to pen her own dialogs for some parts of the movie - wish all those control freaks out there are hearing!

Story/ Screenplay/ Dialog: Rani's challenges in this story are not hers alone - they are the trials of every person, man or woman, who has felt diffident owing to their cultivated nature or low-spirited when bowed down by circumstances. This is a story of gaining perspective and discovering one's potential through travel, cross-cultural exposure and external support. That is why the story is so meaningful for every person. One of the reasons the movie works is because it has realistic dialog - dialog as Indians use in normal daily life, nothing cheesy that Hindi movies are so used to.

Music: The movie is aptly supported by Amit Trivedi's foot-tapping and innovative score. That said, if I could, I would either eliminate some songs or shorten them just to reduce the length of the movie.

Entertainment factor: Make no mistake, this is NOT an "art film" or parallel cinema. This is a highly entertaining and fun movie that also happens to be high quality and meaningful. Though the protagonist of the movie is a woman, the movie is equally entertaining for all men and women.

Its not every year (or sometimes even years) that you come across a bollywood flick that stays with you for days after you watched it. Queen is one such film that will make you want to watch it again.

The story is similar in theme to English Vinglish (Yet another masterpiece) but stands out in execution and story telling.

Kangana Ranaut delivers her career best in Queen no doubt.

I was actually there on location in Amsterdam sometime in September 2012 when they were filming the last scene where she runs down the bridge to meet her friends at the rock show. The simplicity of the set and all involved was an indication of a good film which i later found out was to be named 'Queen' Watch it right away and you will leave the hall with a smile.

Vikas Bahl's Queen is a refreshingly sensitive film, which gives us a story which is raw, simple, and highly involving. The film tells the story of Rani, an innocent and demure young woman whose fiancé calls off their upcoming wedding all of a sudden just a day before. Heartbroken, she decides not to cancel their pre-booked honeymoon and embarks on a journey to Paris and Amsterdam all by herself. How this simple, unassuming girl, who never left her city let alone her country, will manage all alone abroad is what this film is all about. The interesting people she meets, the lessons she learns as she reflects back on her past life, make it a fascinating ride.

The film is wonderfully developed, and it works as a true dramedy, a positive one at that, where we are shown there's something good out of everything. Rani's story is inspiring and touching, and clearly a true queen emerges out of her struggle. Needless to say, nothing would have worked as well without Kangana Ranaut, whose charming, relatable and authentic performance is a portrait of vulnerability, strength and resilience. She really manages to capture Rani's naivety, innocence, and particularly her growing maturity and sense of independence. That this film is so good is mainly to her credit, as she is the heart and soul of the entire enterprise.

Queen addresses many important themes and conveys social messages which could inspire many young girls, or everyone in general. But above all it's just a very entertaining film, with hardly a dull moment. The story might seem a little simplistic on paper, but the writing makes it much more profound than it could have been. It just feels so real and simple and devoid of redundant clichés. Bahl's excellent direction makes it a moving experience, producing an uplifting coming-of-age picture infused with moments of strong drama and heartwarming comedy, right to the exhilarating conclusion. If you haven't seen it yet, you should.

Queen (Hindi): The Phantom Productions are back with a bang this year after their fresh romance in "Hasee Toh Phansee" with the story of a typical Punjabi girl whose journey causing the change of her real identity which has been shown brilliantly in the film which has shades of films like "Jab We Met" , "Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara" and even some of the Satyajit Ray's films like "Charulata" and "Mahanagar" . Hatsoff to director Vikas Behl for showing the brilliant character development of the protagonist (played by Kangana Ranaut) from Rani to Queen which scores in its riveting screenplay (Behl, Parveez Sheikh and Chaitily Parmar) along with crackling dialogues (Anvita Dutt and Kangana Ranaut), the cinematography by Bobby Singh and Siddharth Diwan actually reminds of the film 'Dev D' and it captures the locales beautifully along with the moments in the film and then comes the music score by Amit Trivedi which is simply fabulous and scores in making the narrative flow like anything. In the performances, the foreign cast (Bokyo Mish, Jeffery Ho and Joseph Guitobh) are simply superb and riveting. Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Hayden provide shoulder brilliantly to the protagonist and it's development. Last but not the least, it's Kangana Ranaut who brilliantly carries the film on her shoulders and she repeats her brilliance what we saw in films like "Gangster" and "Fashion" and she comes out as a real winner and a real Queen. Despite some draggy moments, director Behl's narration succeeds in making the film worth a watch for some fresh cinematic experience. My rating would be: 4/5.