'Queen', the story of Rani from Rajouri Garden, Delhi, has been making waves since its release alongside the lot more publicized 'Gulaab Gang'. But looks like the box office has not been so kind to the women in pink.After almost a week long deliberation, we decided to celebrate the 'holi'day with Kangana Ranaut and she absolutely made our day!
The film begins with a tribute to its cinematographer Bobby Singh, who, I understand, passed away mid way during the shooting of the film (& Special Chabbis).
Directed by Vikas Bahl, who earlier gave us 'Chillar Party', the film stars, alongside some brilliantly cast character artistes in various supporting roles, Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Haydon.
A bride-to-be, dumped by her fiancee, 2 days before the scheduled wedding decides to go on the already planned honeymoon all by herself and in the process learns to live life on her own terms. Any similarity to last years hit 'English Vinglish' is only coincidental, I guess, as Vikas dishes out well etched scenes one after the other to keep things moving.
The dialogues (co written by Kangana), hilarious at times, are uncluttered and real, for a film that hinges completely on the actors and their interactions, what with most of the film being shot abroad and key characters that do not speak Hindi. Kudos!
Amit Trivedi deserves special mention for the soundtrack and every song fit the bill perfectly. I have raved enough about the songs (London Thumakda and Ranjha-credited to Rupesh Kumar Ram, being my favorites) on my fb page. It was interesting to see the usage of Sitar in the Rock show scene. Another stellar effort post Lootera, where I thought his background score was brilliant.
The screenplay does lose a bit of steam in the second half as some scenes seem repetitive but thankfully it picks up pace again at the right time. The Roxette episode I thought was an unnecessary detour and hardly leaves an impact. Further, the reason for Vijay's (Rao) change of heart could have been established better. Nevertheless, the writing does leave a moist eye at places.
Lisa Haydon is vibrant (in every way!) as Vijayalakshmi ;) ;) Rajkummar Rao as Vijay does his part well. Even the Japanese & Russian room mates in Amsterdam and the Italian chef are perfect choices and throw in nuanced performances. The 'sense of humour' that keeps you smiling though out needs special mention. The french toast, the sex toy shop, the hostel, the non-veg jokes of Santa-Banta, the lizard et al..But in the middle of it all, is an outrageously heart warming performance from the leading lady
My Verdict: Highly recommended. Kangana's Rani will leave a smile on your face as you step out of the movie hall.
