'Queen' Kangna Shines in a Near Flawless Inspirational Tale

Rani naively lectures a stripper in Amsterdam from ultra-conservative Pakistan (a curious anomaly, this) on how she must find a better job for herself, and yet thinks nothing of getting drunk in a Parisian bar with her bindaas half-French half-Indian girl pal (Lisa Hayden) to the pounding sounds of Asha Bhosle's "Hungama ho gaya". But then Bollywood music does that to anyone. It liberates the spirit. And Kangna's Rani is on the look-out for just that.

The silken-smooth plot can be roughly divided into the 'Parisian' and the 'Amsterdam' half, though neither of two cities come across as touristic spots. But then "Queen" is that kind of a film. I came away so much richer, spirit awash with thoughts of hope life and sunshine. Every character from Rani's parents, to her Parisian friend Vijay-Laxmi(who ironically has the same first-name as her cad of a fiance) to her three male room-mates in Amsterdam make a space in your heart forever. The brilliantly transitional screenplay has no jagged edges. Every component somehow slips into place. As Bahl tells his story we become one with Rani's journey. The desperate optimism of her marriage-less honeymoon directs her to inner reserves of strength and will-power that she didn't know existed. By the time Rani's journey ends, you are supremely attached to her soul. Kangna's performance holds the film together even as Rajkummar Rao as the selfish fiance and Lisa Haydon as Rani's bohemian Parisian pal lend added colour to the bewitching canvas. The smallest of the roles are performed with unconditional conviction. If you miss "Queen", you may never get a chance to know how Rani journeyed into self-actualization. And that would be your loss entirely.

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