Monday, March 24, 2014

Queen





It's been ages since I logged into blogger! I was busy getting married, then setting up the new house and trying to get back to work. But the first thing I want to do is ask everybody to watch Queen. :)
I caught up on a  lot of movies and a few books in the past few months. But Queen is definitely worth writing down about.

It is a story of a small town girl who goes to Paris, alone, on her honeymoon. Her fiance dumps her last minute and after gathering herself up from the shock, she decides that she still wants to go on her honeymoon. Even if it is all by herself. :)

Although the general direction the movie takes is light and funny, there are some intensely poignant moments -- some with the potential of making you sniffle. :'(
I sat through it reliving my own travels & journeys, shedding tears every now and then, next to my slightly bewildered husband.

However different the circumstances may be, when we step out into the big bad world on our own, we all share the feelings of fear, excitement and the thrill of being anonymous and away from people who might control, or judge us. Suspended between two worlds, people often become less judgmental of others' actions or their ways of life. We tend to be more accepting of human beings when we are in transit. All of this is beautifully presented by Vikas Bahl and effortlessly executed by Kangna Ranaut. She plays the part like she was made for this film. You completely forget the Kangna you saw in Fashion, or the Kangna you come across, dressed in ultra chic clothes, on Page 3.

The story goes along two lines. The first one is Rani's opening up to happiness again after a sudden change of plans. The second, her gradual discovery of who she is and what she wants. The first one is fairly instant but the movie ends on a note where you realize that her self-discovery has just begun. What makes you tear up (or rather made me tear up), are these moments when you know what it feels like -- to board a plane alone, leaving behind family at the airport, to be a complete stranger in a new place, to get over your inhibitions in a hurry, just to survive in a foreign land.

The only other thing as urgent as watching this film would be to listen to the sound track. Just like Kagna, it seems, Amit Trivedi has also given his soul to the music of this film. I was wowed by his clever use of Sitar, not just in the songs, but also in the background score. The background score is so good that it manages to distract you from the movie sometimes. :)

I am so glad that Anurag Kashyap is making box office hits now. I think this is exactly the kind of cinema that everybody needs. Something that is not just all out entertaining. Something that comes with a soul, a seed that would make you reflect.


Here's my favorite song from the movie -- 'Kinare'