Victoria and Abdul

Dame Judi Dench,  Ali Fazal,

Eddie Izzard

"An untold True Story of

a Queen and her best Friend"

The film begins with a disclaimer "based on true events ... mostly" so this should all put us at ease. The fact that the aging Queen Victoria, a cantankerous being in her old age suddenly regains her joie de vivre from her friendship with an Indian servant named Abdul Karim is really preposterous, come to think about it.

How in that day and age can a lowly servant develop a deep friendship with the ruler of many colonies? Even to this current time, the British monarchy is still bound with many protocols to merit a comfortable liaison with them. Even though the younger members of the monarchy seem to be more approachable, I believe they are still restricted and controlled by certain age old norms and traditions.

So anyway back to the film. We see an aged Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) who simply goes through her ceremonial tasks being terribly bored that she literally falls asleep.  Enter Abdul, a lowly prison clerk who is sent to the UK to present a ceremonial coin at the Golden Jubilee banquet for Queen Victoria, mostly because of his tall height. He was not to speak unless spoken to yet he manages to charm himself in the good graces of the Queen.  

Their interaction involves him teaching her to speak and write Urdu. He also becomes her confidante and  cheers her up with inspirational quotes when she is melancholic. It is a good, healthy platonic relationship yet naturally the staff and her family all disapprove and come up with sorts of scenarios to keep them apart.

Dame Judi Dench is a great thespian and her portrayal of Queen Victoria is spot on. Her acting is perfection.  Ali Fazal is a revelation and his role as the doe-eyed, optimistic "Munshi" (teacher) is heartwarming. Their platonic chemistry is palpable and they earn my praises for their believable and poignant performances. 

The cinematography is authentic with vast scenes of castles and the verdant English countryside. The costumes are befitting the era buoyed by a stunning set design. The plot veers towards racism and discrimination against a different culture, it was true to point as it was quite prevalent in that era. When imperialistic monarchs mastered the art of colonization.

Overall, it is an entertaining movie about an unusual friendship yet unfortunately it lacks a certain something. So much so that I suddenly miss all those wonderful  yet forlorn Ivory-Merchant movies of days gone by.