Queen

<p>Rani Mehra ( ) is a 24-year-old sheltered, meek, yet good-natured Punjabi woman from Delhi. Two days before her wedding, her fiancé Vijay Dhingra ( ) tells her that he no longer wishes to marry her. He explains that his lifestyle has changed after living abroad, and Rani’s conservative habits would be the wrong match for him. Stunned at the development, Rani shuts herself in her room for a day, recalling how she and Vijay met and fell in love. Wanting to control the situation, she asks her parents’ permission to go alone on her pre-booked honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam. After initially hesitating, her parents agree, thinking that a vacation might cheer her up. Rani’s grandmother approves of her decision and assures her that sometimes things like this occur for the better. In Paris, Rani meets Vijayalakshmi ( ), a free-spirited woman of French-Spanish-Indian descent who works at the hotel in which Rani stays. Overwhelmed by the new city and having gotten into trouble twice – once with the local police and once with a robber – Rani intends to return to India. However, Vijayalakshmi helps her out and gives her a tour around the city. The two have a series of adventures, during which Rani relives the memories of Vijay patronizing her and forbidding her from dancing and drinking – which she’s free to do in Paris. During one particular incident, Rani tries on what she considers to be a revealing outfit and accidentally sends a selfie of her wearing the attire to Vijay instead of Vijayalakshmi. Rani quickly realizes her mistake, but unbeknownst to her, the selfie revives Vijay’s interest in Rani, and he decides to seek her out. Eventually, the time comes for Rani to bid an emotional farewell to Vijayalakshmi and leave for Amsterdam. However, when she arrives in Amsterdam, Rani finds that her hostel room is being shared with three men: Taka from Japan, Tim from France, and Oleksander from Russia. Despite being skeptical, she soon becomes good friends with them and spends time shopping, sightseeing, visiting a sex shop, going to a church, and meeting pole dancers in a club. Rani befriends a pole dancer named Roxette/Rukhsar ( ), a Pakistani girl who is the sole breadwinner for her family back in Lahore and is also a friend of Vijayalakshmi. Rani slowly begins to gain confidence by taking control of her decisions. Realizing her earning potential, she wins a cook-off by selling gol gappas. After the cook-off event, the Italian host and restaurant owner, Marcello, shares an intimate moment with her, and Rani experiences her first ‘Indo-Italian’ kiss with him. However, they choose to amicably part ways. She learns more about her friends’ backgrounds and begins to understand how different life can be for people in other parts of the world. One day, the four friends find Vijay waiting for Rani in front of the hostel. Vijay apologizes to Rani and asks her to reconsider their relationship. Their conversation escalates as he tries to grab hold of Rani, but her friends retaliate, and she asks him to leave. Rani decides to miss out on a concert with her friends to meet with Vijay and discuss their future. Vijay continues to judge Rani’s new friends and behavior, like drinking champagne and her choice of living with roommates of the opposite gender, and tells her that she doesn’t know foreigners. This causes her to leave abruptly, saying that she would rather speak to him after returning to Delhi. Rani then meets up with her friends one last time at the concert. After bidding a tearful farewell to them, she returns to India. Back in Delhi, Rani visits Vijay at his home. Thinking she has decided to forgive him, he and his family start discussing wedding plans. Instead, Rani hands Vijay her engagement ring and says “thank you,” suggesting that he gave her the opportunity to explore the world and develop herself by rejecting her. She then walks away with a confident smile on her face. Producer-director Vikas Bahl made his directorial debut with (2011), co-directed with Nitesh Tiwari, which won three . Since he liked the story of , he decided to direct the film himself. It was eventually produced by and , which he co-owns with and . The lead role of Rani was earlier offered to and , both of whom turned down the film. As he wrote the script, he based Rani on people he had observed while growing up in Delhi. “I know life for girls is planned out for them by their families. They lose their own perspective on life and they are okay with that.” In a scenario where as a girl crosses 20, her family gets busy to get her “settled”, she never plans anything by herself, unless as in this case of Rani, marriage plans go awry. Thus the script was developed so that in the “first half, Rani gets over the guy, and in the second, she gets over herself.” Bahl wrote the script keeping Ranaut in mind, however it was who connected him with her and helped cast her in the film. After her audition, actress Lisa Haydon, who played an Indo-French hotel staff member, Vijaylaksmi, practiced French for a month. Other actors Mish Boyko (Alexander) and Jeffery Ho (Taka) were cast after auditions in London, while Joseph Guitobh (Tim), who played Rani’s third roommate, was spotted singing on a street and was asked whether he’d be interested in working in Hindi film, though he couldn’t speak English. The film was shot in late 2012 over a period of 45 days, starting with , followed by and . Despite shooting abroad, Vikas Bahl did not have a huge budget to spend on the film. He took a crew of 25 people from India to shoot the film in about 145 locations in 40 days. Locations were booked a couple of hours, before the crew would rush to another location as they often shot 3–4 locations in a day. The crew would eat their meals at nearby restaurants, and at times actors including lead Kangana Ranaut would change clothes in nearby public toilets and restaurants. Since the film was not shot in a linear fashion, the colour of , applied to bride’s hand was faded to match its natural fading. During the filming upon Ranaut’s suggestion some scenes were added, like the kiss scene with the Italian chef, and a small scene where Rani asks a stranger to click her picture in Amsterdam. She even ended up writing a lot of her dialogue, and was given credit for the additional dialogue. In fact during filming, the director allowed all the actors to improvise their dialogue, to add realism to the film. The remixed version of “Hungama Ho Gaya” was shot at Club NL, in Amsterdam, where a Hindi song was played for the first time. However, when 90 percent of the film was already shot, cinematographer died suddenly following an asthma attack on 25 December 2012, after just having completed a schedule in Delhi. After seeing rushes of the film, Anurag Kashyap volunteered to edit the film himself and since Bahl didn’t have any editors at the time, he too agreed. The trailer of the film was released on 20 December 2013. The film’s soundtrack is composed by , with lyrics by Anvita Dutt. The album was released exclusively on on 23 January 2014, followed by a release on all streaming platforms on 25 January 2014. The music album was physically released on 5 February 2014 at the in . An additional track was released on 1 March 2014, it was the remixed version of hit cabaret number of the 1970s sung by for the film, (1973) was remixed by Amit Trivedi for the film, with additional vocals by . The song was also used in end credits of the film. , as well as Ranaut’s performance, received universal critical acclaim. On the website , has an approval rating of 90% based on 10 reviews, with an of 8/10. On the Indian film review aggregator website The Review Monk, received an average score of 8.1/10 based on 31 reviews and 100% critics being in the favor. Meena Iyer from gave the film a rating of 4.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘This film belongs to its director Vikas Bahl; Bollywood should blow bugles in his honour’’. Calling Ranaut a ‘‘class act’’ she further wrote, ‘‘Ranaut’s performance is outstanding; Whether she’s crestfallen or ecstatic, selling golgappas or naively buying sex-toys, hiding her infatuation for an Italian restaurateur or showing deep dejection about her wimpy beau Vijay, she’s a class act’’. Sarita Tanwar from gave the film a rating of 4.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘ is irresistible. Highly recommended. A must-see film. You will leave the theatre with your heart humming happily’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance she further wrote, ‘‘Kangana displays a surprising capacity for both comedy and emotion. As Rani, she displays amazing vulnerability and depth that very few performers can pull off; She is a delight’’. Saurabh Dwivedi from gave the film a rating of 4.5/5 and called it a ‘‘must-watch’’. He praised Ranaut’s performance by writing, ‘‘Kangana has a done fabulous job playing Rani; She has let her fans and audience know that she means business and is here to be taken seriously’’. Devesh Sharma from gave the film a rating of 4.5/5 and opined, ‘‘ is definitely a step in the right direction for Indian Cinema’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he wrote, ‘‘It’s Kangana’s film from frame one. The way she flits from one aspect of her character to another without breaking strides shows her maturity as an actor’’. Subhash K Jha of gave the film a rating of 4.5/5 and called a ‘‘near flawless inspirational tale’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘In , Kangana is so in-sync with her character that you wonder if the story was written according to the emotions that the actress had stored away in her heart; Her performance holds the film together’’. of gave the film a rating of 4/5 and described ‘‘ is spicy, balmy and uplifting. Like good gol gappas, it leaves a zesty aftertaste that lingers on until long after the ride has ended. It warms the heart and tickles the funny bone with equal force’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘Kangana’s is the heart and soul of and she does not strike a single false note; It is a performance that should define not only her career from here on, but also the fate of any young Bollywood actress seeking to push the boundaries of what is acceptable within the framework of the commercial Hindi movie industry’’. of gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, ‘‘ reinvents the genre with its non-formulaic screenplay and skilled direction; A charming little film, this one’s made with heart and feeling and it shows’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘Kangana captures the nuances of her character spot-on; She’s simply outstanding! The earnestness and sincerity she invests in her performance is for all to see; It won’t be erroneous to state that she turns Rani into the most real woman you’ve encountered on the Hindi screen lately’’. stated that, ‘‘ is about the metamorphosis of Rani’’. She gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, ‘‘Ultimately Queen is Kangana’s triumph. I left the theater thinking about Rani and how the rest of her life would pan out. It’s not often you do that with a Bollywood character’’. of gave the film a rating of 4/5 and described it as an ‘‘extraordinary journey of self-discovery’’. Calling Ranaut’s performance ‘‘raw’’ and ‘‘nuanced’’ he further wrote, ‘‘it’s Kangana Ranaut who makes you root for Rani from the word go; The best way to describe her fabulous performance is by confessing that I forgot I was watching Kangana. It’s a raw, nuanced, delicately comical performance, and Bahl rightfully builds his film around his fearless, quirky heroine’’. from gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, ‘‘ is a good entertainer, sure, but, more critically, it is a showcase for an actress poised to reign. This is one of those monumental moments when you feel the movies shift, and nothing remains the same; I’ve seen the future, baby, and it’s Kangana’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘Ranaut is gobstoppingly spectacular; she absolutely shines and the film stands back and lets her rule. It’s a bold but immaculately measured performance, internalised and powerful while simultaneously as overt as it needs to be to moisten every eye in the house’’. of gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, ‘‘ is a significant Bollywood marker, a film that is intensely local and gloriously global, with a terrific lead performance by Kangana Ranaut, in a story that bubbles over with real feeling and meaning’’. Calling Ranaut the ‘‘Queen of Hearts’’ she further wrote, ‘‘Kangana Ranaut revels in her solidly-written role, and delivers a first rate, heart-felt performance’’. of wrote, ‘‘ explores a girl’s identity as an independent entity. It’s about a rooted Indian girl who goes on a holiday to find herself’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘Kangana Ranaut as Rani, in a role of a lifetime, makes an absolutely delightful journey. She wins us over first with innocence, small-town charm, vulnerability, spirit, strength, warmth and her gradual confidence’’. of gave the film a rating of 3.5/4 and wrote, ‘‘ is a squarely mainstream film; Simplistic? Undemanding? Perhaps. But ultimately it is immensely warm and winsome, pressing just the right emotional buttons’’. Deepanjana Pal of called a ‘‘fabulous film’’ and a ‘‘delight’’. Calling Ranaut’s performance ‘‘endearing’’ and ‘‘electric’’ she wrote, ‘‘Ranaut as Rani is pitch perfect. She brings out the sweetness, the hurt, the belligerence and the head-screwed-tightly-on-her-shoulders sensibility that is the pride of the Indian middle class. The cherry on this acting cake is that this lady’s got superb comic timing’’. Shafiq Ul Hasan from gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, ‘‘ is a peek into the life of a woman who embarks upon a journey, her own honeymoon to be precise, in an attempt to find herself when her wedding is cancelled at the last minute’’. Praising Ranaut and Bahl he further wrote, ‘‘This was, by far, one of Kangana Ranaut’s truest and finest performances; Vikas Bahl directed the movie with superb class, I don’t think I would change a thing about it’’. David Chute of wrote, ‘‘ seems an oddly modest film to have made such a big splash. It is charming and at times unexpectedly moving, especially in moments of cross-cultural bonding between Rani and the odd assorted group of expats who befriend her, as she wanders somewhat cluelessly around Paris and Amsterdam’’. Olga Camacho of wrote, ‘‘There are surprisingly few clichés, romantic angles or moments of epiphany in the film – instead, we get some genuine laughs and an honest look at relationships’’. Suparna Sharma of gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, ‘‘ is a well-meaning, well-mannered film that’s funny and packs in small, elevating, but palatable messages. It challenges nothing; It just shows an Indian girl slowly, gently renegotiating life while remaining true to who she is’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance she further wrote, ‘‘Kangana Ranaut has always been a powerful performer. She’s an actress with lots of talent who has taken on roles that are different, challenging and out of the league of most Bollywood actresses fighting the number game. And here too she has made a bold choice and a difficult one as well. She stays true to the character she is playing, as it has been etched out, never once over-reaching and going for histrionics. She doesn’t try to grab you. She just tugs at you, with her subtle, nuanced performance; She is in complete control and is very good’’. of crowned as the best film of the year 2014. Mihir Fadnavis of cited as one of the best Bollywood films of 2014. Calling it the ‘‘biggest surprise of the year’’ he said, The film had rare ‘‘subtlety’’ and ‘‘quality’’ for a mainstream commercial film. of cited it as one of the best films of 2014. She stated, ‘‘ heartening success proves women-oriented subjects are just as welcome’’. Shafiq Ul Hasan of listed as one of the best Bollywood films of 2014. Ishita Blaggan of named it as one of the top ten Bollywood hits of 2014. Subramanian Harikumar of listed it as one of the best Bollywood films of 2014. listed it as one of the best women-centric movies of 2014. Calling Ranaut’s performance in the film ‘‘effortless’’ they wrote, ‘‘ is one of the best gifts that Bollywood received on ’’. Film critic in her blog crowned as the best film of the year 2014 and Ranaut as the best actress of the year 2014. Additionally, she ranked Haydon as the second best supporting actress of the year. For her performance in , named Ranaut as the best actress of 2014. listed Ranaut as one of the top female performers of the year 2014 in Bollywood. listed Ranaut’s performance in the film as one of the stand-out performances of 2014. of ranked Ranaut as the second best actress of year 2014. He wrote, ‘‘Ranaut, who has written her own dialogue in the film, fashions a character with undying spirit and verve’’. Nandini Ramnath of listed Ranaut’s character in the film, Rani, as one of the best roles in Hindi films of 2014. According to , is considered to be Ranaut’s calling-card film. Not only did it cement Ranaut as one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry, it also changed the Bollywood landscape and inspired a streak of films like (2015), (2015), (2016), (2016) and (2017). They further stated, ‘‘ success empowered not only female actors, but also producers, who could no longer cite the lack of stars as being detrimental to their films’ chances at the box office’’. Oshin Fernandes from called a ‘‘niche-breaker’’ in Hindi Cinema. Critics called a ‘‘game-changer’’ and wrote, ‘‘ was not just a game-changer for Ranaut, but also for all the women out there who received hope and motivation to live their lives on their own terms’’. Farhan Syed of listed as one of the ten Bollywood movies that broke stereotypes. popularized solo trips and inspired a lot of women to have a solo trip to . In 2019, Megha Sharma from published a guide to a solo European holiday inspired by Ranaut’s . called a ‘‘game-changer’’. She wrote, ‘‘It was (2014) that was the real game changer; The low-budget film hit a chord, quickly climbing to the top of the charts and since then, other films have featured male superstars fighting for women’s causes, such as in (2016), or showing their feminist side, such as making rotis (flatbread) for his on-screen wife in (2017)’’. About Ranaut’s performance in , opined, ‘‘It is a performance that should define not only her career, but also the fate of any young Bollywood actress seeking to push the boundaries of what is acceptable within the framework of the commercial Hindi movie industry’’. stated, ‘‘ success is validation that audiences are open to a range of women-centric films, from heavy-duty dramas to small, breezy dramedies’’. Devesh Sharma of called a ‘‘step in right direction for Indian Cinema’’. He stated that, ‘‘ will pave the way for more story-centric films in future; After and , Ranaut has staked her claim as the right choice for gutsy roles’’. Runjhun Noopur from called a and wrote, ‘‘ is a rare legit classic, as relevant today as it was in 2014’’. She described as a groundbreaking and an influential . Writing about legacy she opined, ‘‘ is a piece of art with a life of its own, a story that makes you feel connected to the world in ways few things can; Beyond the , it is a story of human triumph that gives you hope and makes you want to fight for your happiness; It makes you want to believe in people, in friends, in strangers who become your fleeting accomplices in the journey of life and that is the true legacy of ’’. Shrishti Negi from cited as one of the best movies of decade and the film which represents or defined the year 2014 in Hindi Cinema. She further wrote, ‘‘In Bollywood, where we are used to watching romance between a couple (man and woman), shows us some other kind of love, i.e. self-love, which is not only liberating but completely fulfilling’’. called a ‘‘Kangana’s triumph’’. Arushi Kapoor from called the most of recent years and stated, ‘‘ undoubtedly made a strong statement with the central plot of a girl moving on after being left at the altar and finding herself; but even beyond the essence of the film was a multi-layered message of beautifully portrayed feminist ideals; was, arguably, the most feminist film in Bollywood post the 2000’s and definitely a lesson in Feminism 101’’. from named as one of India’s seventy-five most iconic films that celebrate the journey of the country. She also featured in her book called ‘‘50 Films That Changed Bollywood’’. In 2017, cultural professor named as one of the 70 iconic Movies of Independent India. ‘‘ released, changed my life and Indian cinema forever marked the birth of a new leading lady and woman-centric . is not just a film for me, it was an explosion of everything I ever deserved (that) was kept away from me for 10 long years. Everything came all at once, it was overwhelming’’. — Ranaut on the occasion of 7th anniversary of Queen. Deepanjana Pal of stated that, ‘‘ is the first time Ranaut got a script that really allows her to confirm she’s more than a pretty face. There’s no high fashion or flattering make-up to flaunt Ranaut’s physical beauty in , but this is a role that allows Ranaut to showcase not just her acting talents, but also her wit because Ranaut is credited with contributing additional dialogues to the film’’. Aamy Kuldip of said should be every brown girl’s favorite movie and opined, ‘‘ won our hearts and it started the era of brown girls with new-found confidence’’. He called Ranaut’s character in , Rani, the ‘‘epitome’’ of the average brown girl trying to settle in the misogynistic and hypocritical world of ours; coming to the realization that accepting yourself is the first step in having the world accept you. Ranaut’s character in , Rani Mehra, has become one of the most popular and recognizable characters in Hindi Cinema. listed it as one of the 4 best characters from Hindi Cinema. Alisha Alam of listed it as one of the strongest female characters from Bollywood. listed it as one of the fifteen strongest women characters in Bollywood. listed it as one of the thirteen most powerful women characters portrayed in Bollywood. Radhika Seth and Riya Dhankar of listed it as one of the most empowering female characters in Bollywood. Srishti Magan of listed it as one of the nineteen most relatable female characters from Bollywood. featured on various decade-end lists with several publications naming it as one of the best Indian films of the decade. listed it as one of the twenty-five greatest Hindi films of the decade. Radhika Menon of listed it as one of the twenty best Bollywood movies of 2010s. Avijit Ghosh of listed it as one of the eleven best movies of the decade. of listed it as one of the best Bollywood films of the decade. listed it as one of the ten best Hindi films of the decade. Shrishti Negi of listed it as one of the best Hindi films of the decade. Nandini Ramnath of cited it as one of the best Indian films of the decade. cited it as one of the best Bollywood movies of the decade. Srishti Magan of cited it as one of the forty-five films that redefined Bollywood in 2010s decade. is cited as one of the best Indian films of all time by several publications. Emma Carey of cited it as one of the best Bollywood movies of all time. from cited it as one of the ten greatest Bollywood films of the 21st century. listed it as one of the hundred best Bollywood movies of all time. Ineye Komonibo of listed it as one of the thirty-eight best Bollywood movies of all time. cited it as one of the twenty best Bollywood movies of all time. Jasmine Ting of cited it as one of the best Indian films. Radhika Menon of listed it as one of the fifteen best Bollywood movies. listed it as one of the thirty evergreen Bollywood films that one should watch before they die. Prakruti Patel and Elena Nicolaou of listed it as one of the best films in Indian Cinema. Sonali Pimputkar of cited it as one of the fifteen must-watch female-oriented movies in Bollywood. has grossed (US$10 million) in India, with a further (US$1.2 million) in overseas, for a worldwide total of (US$11 million). debuted with relatively low collections and grossed (US$236,562) on the first day, grossing (US$400,000) on the second day, and (US$510,000) on the third day, taking the first weekend’s collection to (US$1.1 million). Despite a poor start, held up well in the first weekdays and grossed around (US$300,000) per day during the week and ended the first week with (US$2.1 million). On its second Monday it grossed (US$350,000), coinciding with a holiday in India. had higher collection in the second week than the first week, collecting (US$4.6 million) in two weeks. The movie had a massive growth by far in 2014 for the third week collection by (US$1.4 million), which totals the third week collection to (US$6.0 million). In the fourth week, the film managed a promising (US$770,000), which is the 11th highest gross of all time in the history of Hindi cinema for the fourth week. The final domestic collection was just above (US$7.1 million). At the , the film won (Bahl) and (Ranaut). At the ceremony, won a leading 6 awards out of a leading 13 nominations: , (Bahl), (Ranaut), (Trivedi), and . At the 2015 ceremony, received a leading 13 nominations, and won , (Bahl) and Best Cinematography. Other nominations included (Ranaut), and (Haydon). At the 2015 , the film won (Bahl), Best Story, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing awards. also won , (Bahl) and (Ranaut) at the 2015 ceremony. At the , received 7 nominations, and won 5 awards including and (Ranaut).</p>