Victoria & Abdul

There's an odd sense of misguided chronicling in the film, which is strange considering it's directed by Stephen Frears who has made rather lovely films like High Fidelity. The lack of irony, or satirical bite from his earlier film The Queen ultimately hurts Victoria and Abdul, more a missed opportunity than a piece of entertainment.

Unfortunately, as told by this film, through Ali Fazal whose Abdul is as two-dimensional as a cardboard, with as little insight into the man transported into an alien world, Victoria and Abdul plays out exactly like a fantasy.

Perhaps it's an attempt to make Islam more palatable to a terrorism-plagued West, but it seems tone deaf in a post-2014 India, where it might just fan certain undesirable flames. All in all, we can only end with what the filmmakers begin the movie with, a caveat that "This is based on a true story...... Mostly."

Ali Fazal Fails To Match Up To Judi Dench's Brilliance...

Victora & Abdul is a could-have-been-better movie about an interesting story. Despite the ravishing chemistry between lead actors, the film is an underwhelming watch.

At risk of sounding racist, the movie is one that most people unaccustomed to the Indian way of life will enjoy as to them it is a window into a world (British-ruled India) they seldom make an effort at truly understanding. But to most people inhabiting this country, stories good and bad about the British Raj are ones we have seen and heard before, and with little to no character or grit written for the Indian representative of the cast, the film might prove to be a tough pill to swallow.