The Black Prince

I was greatly looking forward to seeing this film about one of the most important periods in Sikh history. However I left the cinema feeling very disappointed. The producer and director missed a unique opportunity to portray events properly. For starters, Duleep Singh was portrayed as a morose, colourless, depressed person. There was no spark at all. Queen Victoria did not look remotely like the actual person. The other actors were no better than any school amateur drama group. Many of the events in the film were not shown to their natural conclusions. For example, what happened to the Sikhs being herded in the jail? It's no point writing out in the end that so many were hanged etc. No, I am not looking for gory scenes, but, there are dignified and thoughtful ways of showing such events. I came to see a film not read a book! His exile in Scotland where he got the nickname of the Black Prince, was not shown. Scenes have been put together like a drunk attempting a jigsaw puzzle. The only character who gave a good and realistic performance was Shabana Azmi as the Prince's mother. But it still was not enough to save the film. Don't waste your time and money on this film. See something else.

Well i catched the screening in Hong Kong yesterday. I was very impressed by the acting, music and flow of the movie. It's a very well given tribute to Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last maharaja of sikhs. Satinder Sartaj played his role very honestly and very good for first timer. His eyes speak more than his dialogues. I would like to thank the team of the black prince who made and brought this beautiful piece of work to the audience. its a must watch for every person especially sikhs to get to know about their rich history. And very well taught lesson on sikh history especially on maharaja duleep singh's life journey. Don't forget to listen to the songs. They lift the quotient of the emotions in the film and they are just beautiful. i watched the Hindi version and it was really good. Will be watching the English version once its out on DVD.

I was quite excited to see this film. India is a great nation with a rich and vast history. The premise and title showed it could be a great historical film. Sadly I was left rather disappointed. A number of things could have been tweaked or changed which makes this a missed opportunity.

For most of this film it was somewhat hard to follow what was going on in some parts. We can understand the premise but the background that led to his exile and how he lost everything was loosely depicted. One could not follow exactly what was happening and I had to look up Wikipedia for information. Certain historical figures could have been used more such as Queen Victoria. This film never felt too coherent and quite disjointed, it recklessly jumped from scene to scene. With such great subject matter its a shame such a good story was badly told.

Another thing I feel to mention is the lack of compassion I feel for the main character and historical figure. It is undeniable that India was under brutal and horrid British rule but did this Prince really get the short end of the straw? He was treated as royalty in England, captured the Queen's attention and lived in luxury for his young adult life. He also could have any woman he chooses. Life is not always fair but you make do with the hand you are dealt and the hand Duleep Singh was dealt was not so bad and he could make the best of his situation rather than completely turn his back on those who cared for him. Based purely on the film and information available online perhaps Duleep experienced so much loss in his adult life because he did not appreciate what he already had. Important to note that as an Indian he was treated with great respect and affection on British soil unlike Indians on Indian soil, it was his choice to denounce his new family. As Queen Victoria said there is no government built on truth. Nevertheless it could have been a great film but sadly lacked coherence and acute direction.

6/10

Disconnected and clinical look at what should have been a fascinating true story. Plastic acting, oversimplified script, terrible direction and editing which made one much better off googling the real "Black Prince". Almost unworthy even for TV. Very disappointing especially as there were so many high reviews on IMDb.

It is a story about the last sovereign king of Punjab. Definetly not a mainstream stereotypical movie.. some good acting esp by Shabana Aazmi ..an interesting yet somewhat unknown historical narrative of Duleep Singh..slow yet worth seeing..