Victoria and Abdul

 photo by dekhnews.com

photo by denofgeek.com

Monsieur and I  finally watched the film" Victoria and Abdul" which had been on my radar for a long time.  Since I posted about my visit to India in 1983,  I have found myself gravitating to all things Indian.  I am even in the mood for curry. 

Let me just say that this film is a treasure.  I know Judy Dench as one of the best actors of our time, but to see the magic pairing with Ali Fazal in this British drama directed by Steven Frears was breathtaking to watch.  It seems that we saw it here at home almost to the day a year after it was released in 15 September, 2017.  It has long been on our list.

The movie is loosely based on the real life relationship of Queen Victoria and an Indian Muslim named Abdul Karim as chronicled in Shrabani Basu's book: Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant, screenplay written by Lee Hall ( Billy Elliot).

It is quite an astonishing story based on the friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's reign with Abdul Karim, who was simply a young Indian clerk chosen to participate in the queen's Golden Jubilee in 1897. He was brought over to present a coin to her.... ostensibly as he was good looking and tall, nothing more.  

 The queen's household, her son and the royal "inner circle" was shocked and dismayed however, to find that the queen was to form a devoted friendship with Karim which lasted 14 years, until  her death. 

  The true story has just recently come to light because Karim's family kept his diary which told his side of events, even though King Edward VII  who succeeded Victoria, had all other documents and letters destroyed and sent Karim packing immediately after Victoria's death. 

But what captivated me more than the story itself, was the incredible bond formed between these two brilliant actors who had just met for this role.  From what I can tell, Fazal is a "Bollywood" actor and this is his first English language film. 

  I have not seen such charisma displayed on screen for a very long time.    And Victoria ad Abdul is basically a love story, a very unusual one, but a love story nonetheless.   But with Judy Dench, it is anything but a sappy one.  Judy doesn't do "sappy" I am pleased to say.