Queen

This film is a good example of Director's clarity of mind regarding characterization, mood of scenes and way of approach. Director Mr Vikas Bahl work is fantastic. In spite of very thin story line he projected this movie in a very unique, interesting and entertaining way. This movie speaks less and shows maximum. Screenplay is average. Dialogues by Anvita Dutt and Kangana Ranaut are very good. Even very average scenes are so good just because of expression and the way of taking the scene i.e When Rani goes on stage for dance, she copies other dancers and removes her sweater, rolls it like them but in spite of throwing it like them she keeps it in her bag. The way she struggles with the bag snatcher that this average scene comes out a laughter riot. Director inserted some flash back between the scene, which enhanced the scene very well and also projected some different emotions. Even the small characters are minutely observed . In a scene Rani goes to meet her family friend in Paris but that family ladies discuss about the money given to her just for a good luck or rituals. They minimize the amount because Rani is a distant relative. When Rani lives in Paris with her wonderful room mates, in this complete sequence Rani is wondered so director chose a T-shirt for Rani with quotation Alice in wonderland. This quotation clearly reflects Rani state of mind. Director never goes over board and never let the actors go over board. So, interest and entertainment remain intact. Of course Director has been supported by fantastic performance of actors. Kangana Ranaut is out standing. No one could have have performed better than her. Raj Kumar Yadav is OK. Lisa Haydon as Vijaylaxmi is fantastic. All actors are very good including Rani's Paris room mates. Music by Amit Trivedi suits the mood of film.

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.

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.

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.

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.