Sunday, March 23, 2014

Queen Movie Review

Movie: Queen (Hindi)
Director: Vikas Bahl
Music: Amit Trivedi

Rating: ** 1/2 ( Watchable but nothing special)

A lot of praise was recently garnered on this movie, which made me curious to watch it as soon as my exams finish. But the movie left me a bit disappointed. This isn't the Phantom Films standard that was in Udaan, Lootera or even Hassee Toh Phassee.

Queen starts as a bit sluggish but does have its moments of good humor and entertainment. However, as the screenplay moves to France and subsequently Amsterdam, similarities with English Vinglish start creeping up, this when not only does the movie diminishes its originality sphere, it also becomes boring and predictable. The last 15-20 minutes feel a stretch.

But Queen isn't bad, The acting by Rajkumar Rao and Kangana Ranaut is top notch. Direction is quite good. Vikas Bahl effectively uses the flash back to show the peril and despair Ranaut's character goes through. Bits of good humor from Ranaut make the first half tolerable.

But its the screenplay that lets Queen down, i couldn't help wanting something more substantial in the movie, characters move in and out of the story with well written entries but frustratingly abrupt exits. The second half is extremely predictable.

Queen strongly reminded me of English Vinglish and made the experience more predictable and repetitive. Here are some of the similarities:

Overall, Queen was a let down. Though it had its moments and some really funny ones indeed, it was far too predictable to be really enjoyable.

P.S. Even the music is a bit recycled
Compare this song Kinare's music from 1:33 to 2:00 in the video and Udaan's Title track from 0:20 to 045, the similarity is striking!


- Review by Vidit Bhargava