Queen
Year: 2014
Director: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Kangna Ranaut, Rajkumar Yadav, Lisa Haydon

Director Vikas Bahl’s first film Chillar Party was one of the most enjoyable fares of 2011. So I was definitely curious to see his next film Queen as soon as it got released, but somehow could not fit it into my viewing schedule immediately. Then the reports started flooding in that it was a film not to be missed. So finally I took time out and watched it with the family over the weekend. So how is it? Here is the lowdown.

What’s the plot?

A young girl (Kangna Ranaut) all set to get married, gets the shock of her life when her fiancé and longtime boyfriend (Rajkummar Rao) calls off the wedding at the last moment without any valid reason. Shell-shocked and depressed, the girl decides that she would go alone on her planned honeymoon trip to Paris and Amsterdam. Her good-natured parents agree in the hope that such excursion would help her come out of the blues. While roaming and rooming alone in Europe, this typical, tradition-bound small-town Indian girl learns to look at the world (and her own self!) in a different light. Her newfound international friends accept her for who she is and also give her the strength to come out of her erstwhile docile dependent existence. Where will her newfound confidence and independence lead her?  

What’s hot?

·        Vikas Bahl’s direction is crisp and contemporary. The film retains its lighthearted effervescence right till the end, without ever giving in to melodrama. The comic moments captured through simple day-to-day occurrences constantly keep you smiling!

·        Kangana Ranaut delivers the best performance of her career. Her portrayal of a simple, small-town North Indian girl is pitch-perfect. Her pain after being ditched; her bewilderment at the culture shock; her letting go of the past and her gradual realization of self-worth are some of the best moments of the film.

·        The supporting cast members, which includes Rajkummar Rao as the runaway groom and the actors playing the girl’s parents, her younger brother and her assorted foreign friends- all do fab jobs.  Lisa Haydon, playing a hot Parisian waitress deserves a special mention.

·        The marriage song- Saara London Chamakda is a sparkler and the remixed Hungama Ho Gaya brings the roofs down!

What’s not?

·        The one-line plot- a journey of self-discovery is just an old wine in a new bottle.

·        The storyline is more a goody-goody fantasy than reality. But to the director’s credit he makes it quite believable!

Verdict

Queen is not terribly original. It is more or less in the same bracket as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and English Vinglish. Just like these two recent ‘coming of age’ hits, it uses a foreign setup to kindle self-realization in the protagonist and just like them, it ends up being an eminently watchable and well-made film!

More important is its core message. “Don’t keep harping on the heart-breaks. Get a grip on life and move on!”

Rating

4 stars