Watching Queen..

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in Queen


I loved Queen. It’s a really good story about rediscovering the self and feeling the freedom- freedom from all the baggage of reservations and inhibitions that we carry with ourselves. Living her whole life under the set norms and decorum, Rani is a very cultured Indian girl. The best daughter her parents could ever have. She had never imagined that she would be jilted at the altar, and her dream shall come to a standstill. But she decides to come out of her brooding self and leave behind her trauma. She packs up to go on her preplanned honeymoon, alone.


In Paris, she meets VJ, who proves to be a great friend and companion. She saves Rani from trouble, helps her enjoy France where communication in any language other than French is difficult; and helps her come out of her self-conscious and shy self. That is clearly visible when a drunk Rani talks her mind incessantly for the first time in days to anyone who’s listening, and dances her heart out like no one’s watching without bothering a bit about her moves and steps. This crazy version of Rani was so endearing. And another time when VJ takes her shopping and forces her to try a sleeveless one, at first she’s so shy that she has a hard time coming out of the trial room, but then she herself takes a selfie and uploads online. Aww, it’s cute. It’s so human nature. And Kangana’s acting is so natural; she’s very convincing as Rani. Not even a bit superficial.


In Amsterdam, I’ll admit I had a lot of uncontrollable laughters, watching Rani in innumerable dilemma. First is when she comes to know that she has to share her room with three men. And the way she wakes from sleep in a start, jumping and shouting at the top of her voice, seeing the black man, is hilarious. Slowly she learns to trust them, and becomes friends with them. They make so much fun of her innocence, throughout her stay, but also make her holiday a memorable one. They ensure she’s comfortable and happy. Taka- the short heighted Japanese roommate is the sweetest of all. I loved all the characters in the movie- the chubby younger brother Chintu being one of the favorite after Rani.

in Queen

There has been an advent of ‘feel-good’ movies in Bollywood, those that aim at revisiting one’s own self. It started perhaps with Geet and Aditya in Jab We Met. I love movies of this fairly new genre. ‘English Vinglish’, ‘Yeh Jawani Hei Diwani’ and ‘Highway’ came one after the other, the characters enthralling us in their simplicity and realness. And the romantic comedy ‘Hassee Toh Phassee’ is another in the list. Now ‘Queen’ has come highlighting the inner journey, with dollops of fun and touching moments.



Enjoy the journey!! The destination will come when it has to.

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Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundh...
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