[yasr_overall_rating]
Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
Queen Victoria of England and a lowly Indian servant were an unlikely, even outrageous pair to the common observer. But in 1887, when Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) is celebrating her 50th year of reign, she happens to meet this humble heart, bold, but brimming with gratitude. Abdul (Ali Fazal) is low class, even in India, but especially so in England and with the Empress of India, no less! The royal court is bewildered and increasingly hostile toward the friendship that seems to bloom overnight like the fragrance of jasmine.
The Queen is old enough to feel the dearth of loneliness when surrounded only by vultures eagerly awaiting to feed on her corpse, her closest friends and loves having already died. Fortunately, she is also old enough to have zero “buggers” left to give about what other people think of her…and somehow in Abdul she finds the friendship and delight that she has been longing for. He adores her, but not just as his queen. Rather he truly engages with her as a soul equal and loyally remains her closest friend until her death over a decade later.
The film itself is fairly average in cinematography and no doubt the dialogue is fluffed up a little with dry British humor and Indian mischief for entertainment standards. But the story is genuinely heartwarming and also a surprisingly authentic retelling of a scandalous intimacy meant to remain eradicated from the history of British royalty. You can read more of the historical background here if you’d like.
Personally, the kindred spirit of friendship and adventure and bravery between Victoria and Abdul made me dream about the possibility of souls continuously drawn toward each other through many lifetimes. Even Abdul did not live much longer after the Queen passed, even though he was decades younger. Perhaps he really was her “brown John Brown” who returned as a lowly servant, only to love her and protect her until the end of her reign as Queen…
In theaters Friday, September 29th
