Queen Victoria didn’t exactly age gracefully. That’s the impression we get from her famously dour photographs – and sure enough, at the beginning of new film Victoria & Abdul, we watch the elderly Queen doze off during a banquet. As played by national treasure Judi Dench, she’s grumpy, imperious, and clearly tired of life.
That is, until she sees a tall, handsome stranger coming towards her from across the room, and her eyes light up. (Well, yours would too: he’s played by tall, handsome Bollywood star Ali Fazal.) Abdul Karim is a young Indian clerk who’s been sent to take part in Victoria’s jubilee celebrations – and he’s about to change her life.
Odd couple
Victoria might be getting on in years, but she’s still got a few surprises left in her. Victoria & Abdul shows us a Queen who was ahead of her time. She knows how it feels to be a woman leading in a man’s world, and has to fight for respect as people try to dismiss her as hysterical or senile. While her advisors are suspicious of Abdul because of his race and class, Victoria is keen to befriend him and learn from him.
It might seem like a fun piece of fiction cooked up for the screen, but in fact this odd-couple tale is based on a true story. In her final years Queen Victoria’s closest friend and advisor really was a young Muslim clerk from Agra, India.
Because of Abdul Karim the ageing monarch tried curry for the first time, learned Urdu, and read the Koran. All of this was hushed up after she died by her scandalised family, until the recent discovery of some hidden diaries by journalist Shrabani Basu.
Revelation
It was BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker Beeban Kidron who first saw the story’s big-screen potential, after reading an article about the real Abdul. ‘It was a revelation that Queen Victoria had a very close relationship with not only a servant but a Muslim servant,’ she says. ‘The reaction within her royal household was quite telling, and relevant to what’s going on now in the world – about acknowledging tension between cultures and having open-mindedness.’
The irrepressible Dench is on her second turn playing Victoria, having previously donned the crown in 1997’s Mrs Brown, and she’s obviously having a ball. ‘I was very pleased that this role suddenly came up,’ the veteran actress reveals. ‘I had become absolutely absorbed in her story when we made Mrs. Brown and done all the homework, so, why say no?’
Ali Fazal wowed the filmmakers in his audition and grasped at the chance to work with acting royalty. ‘Judi is a gem of a person, and she is everything an actor should be,’ he says. ‘I’ve come through this project with a great friend.’ Dench was just as taken with her co-star, who she calls ‘a beautiful young man. He’s kind of a romantic, and also a laugher; that’s a good mixture! We got on very well indeed.’
Humour and heart
This story of history’s most unlikely friendship makes for a funny, touching and visually stunning production. The filmmakers have paid painstaking attention to every detail – including the food, the locations, and the lavish costumes. ‘We have Victoria very dark at the beginning, in lots of blacks and black textures,’ says Oscar-nominated costume designer Consolata Boyle. ‘There is a progress in how she dresses. As the relationship between she and Abdul deepens, he opens her eyes and her costumes follow suit; they lighten up and the colours lighten.’
The team behind the film are delighted to see Victoria and Abdul’s story finally becoming widely known. ‘The greatest joy was seeing the film with preview audience, watching them pick up on the humor and really understand the message,’ says producer Beeban Kidron. ‘We could not have anticipated just how relevant this story would feel now.’
Victoria & Abdul is in cinemas nationwide from 15th September. Tickets can be booked at victoriaandabdul.co.uk.
