Mar 12, 2014 03:09 PM
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When Phantom Films was launched and announced, many felt that the films they would churn out would surely be worth a watch but these films wouldn’t have universal appeal and would be relegated to the so-called niche audiences.
Thankfully, that’s not the case! The first 2 films of Phantom – Lootera and Hasee Toh Phasee – were not only sensible and thought-provoking but also largely entertaining. And the tradition continues with the third film of Phantom, Queen! Well-directed and well-performed, Queen is one of those films of the year that one shouldn’t miss at any cost!
The story of the movie: Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is from Rajouri, Delhi. She is obedient and has lived a sheltered life with his family. She’s introduced to Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) as a family friend and he starts wooing her. Soon, both fall for each other and their wedding gets fixed. Rani naturally is very excited. But all hell breaks lose 2 days before the wedding. The marriage is called off.
A devastated Rani suddenly decides to go on her European honeymoon, all alone! During the course of her journey, she discovers new people and new ways of life. More importantly, she discovers herself.
The major reason why Queen touches hearts is because everything that happens in the film looks straight out of life and completely convincing. Sure, few episodes are over-the-top, but every attempt is made to make it look real. And anyways, haven’t we all had crazy adventures in our lives?
There was a lot of scope for the director to go all out wild but he ensured he remained honest to the essence of the film. Hence, the film is devoid of herogiri moments, dramatic speeches et al. Plus, the story itself is exciting and the script takes it to another level. The characterization moreover is apt and Rani’s association with them is very interesting.
The film starts off well but after the marriage is called off, the film is slightly shaky. But all gets well as Rani befriends Vijaylakshmi (Lisa Haydon) and their crazy drinking episode is terrific. From this point, the film gets better as it progresses. The second half is breezy. The climax is predictable but is executed very well. The amalgamation of the song ‘Kinaare’ adds to the excitement.
Queen belongs to Kangana Ranaut and she’s surely going to be remembered for this film for ages! The manner in which she exhibited her naivety and also the transformation that she undergoes is all done beautifully. And she looks so stunning, especially in the concluding portions!
The actress, by her own admission, has done quite a few films that she regrets. Hopefully, she has now understood what’s best for her and we’ll get to see sensible films from this powerhouse performer. And the promos of her next, Revolver Rani, indicate that she’s soon going to be back with a bang!
Rajkummar Rao gets back to his bad boy avatar and as expected, pulls it off very well. The actor knows how to leave a mark despite not being there in half of the film. Lisa Haydon is a revelation. She’s sizzling-n-sexy but at the same time, she delivers a fine performance.
Tripta Lakhanpal (Rani’s grandmother) is lovely. Yogendra Tiku (Rani’s dad) and Alka Badola Kaushal (Rani’s mother) are natural and raise laughs. Sabeeka Imam (Rukhsar) looks beautiful and seems like an actor to watch. Chinmaya Agarwal (Chintu) does very well. As for Rani’s Amsterdam friends, Mish Byoko (Oleksandar) steals the show though Jeffrey Ho (Taka) and Guitobh Joseph (Tim) also put their best foot forward. Marco Canadea (Marcello, restaurant owner) is charming.
Amit Trivedi’s music is fine and flows very well with the film. There are almost 8-9 songs in the film and all tracks are neatly incorporated and don’t thwart the narrative. However, few songs sounded very similar. The best tracks are London Thumakda and as aforementioned, Kinaare. Background score is effective.
Cinematography (by late Bobby Singh and Siddharth Diwan) is eye-catching and it was good to see that precious time is not wasted in focusing on the beautiful locales of Paris and Amsterdam. Story and screenplay(Parveez Shaikh, Chaitally Parmar, Vikas Bahl) is impressive and though it’s shaky in the initial portions, they get their act right with the script later on. Dialogues (Anvita Dutt) are the high points and look very real.
Moreover, Kangana too has contributed to some of the dialogues. Lastly, Vikas Bahl’s direction is wonderful. The execution is such that one sympathizes with Rani, gets entertained as she has a gala time and at the same time, feel glad about the lessons she learns and crucial decisions she takes in her life. And it’s all done in a subtle manner and Vikas hasn’t resorted to in-your-face tactics. And it works big time. Hoping to see many such beautiful films from Vikas in the future!
Some of the best scenes:
The songs London Thumakda, Kinaare, O Gujariya
Rani meets Vijay at the coffee shop
All flashback scenes of Rani-Vijay
Rani befriends Vijaylakshmi
Rani gets drunk
Vijaylakshmi talks to Rani’s family
The intermission point
Rani makes new friends in Amsterdam
Rani at the Amsterdam restaurant
Rani’s Amsterdram friends find her video on YouTube
The last 20 minutes of the film
On the whole, Queen is a delightful little film that is guaranteed to touch viewers’ hearts! It is entertaining despite not resorting to conventional tactics of film making and also teaches a thing or two about life. Kangana gives one of the greatest performances of recent times. At the box office, the film had a slow start and hopefully should sustain well in the weekdays.
Just last month, two films – Hasee Toh Phasee and Highway – failed to make a mark at the ticket window despite being great pieces of cinema. Let’s ensure that Queen doesn’t face the same fate. Watch this film in theaters so that it earns well and motivates makers to come up with many such great films!
