Queen: Probably Feminism at its Best

This is not a review of the movie, god knows we have almost a million of them on the net; instead this article tries to express why this movie is one of a kind and how it has nailed feminism. You might wonder about the connection to feminism since the protagonist neither makes a hard hitting statement by avenging her pride and then becoming a career oriented woman nor does she renounce her love and do something for the greater good of society. Rather from the beginning of the movie till the end she has remained a “Nobody” and yet through her journey and her subsequent evolution she has given you the true meaning of feminism, something all of us can relate to.

So, here we have the protagonist Rani, all innocent and sweet getting married to her prince charming, who will protect her from everything and love her till the end of time...so what if he is a bit controlling at times, that’s ‘cause he just wants what’s best for her. But then comes the twist in the tale that too within the first half hour of the movie, the charming prince feels she is just too drab for her and so dumps her quite unceremoniously the day before the wedding. All her virtue and naiveté goes against her as she tries to plead for her love...she returns heartbroken and numb to her home trying to shut the door to reality, exactly like most of us would behave in a situation like this. 

From here on the character could have taken two distinctly trodden paths of yesteryear movies (Remember Rekha, Sridevi etc.); in one she would win over her lover and all other obstacles in her path by her innocence and virtue, whereas in the other she would decide to turn a modern woman, which usually refers to wearing western clothes and mouthing English at the drop of a hat to avenge her pride but of course simultaneously retaining her ‘sanskar’ till the very end. Instead the story took on a very fresh and realistic approach and gave us a protagonist who is sensible and mature. So, Rani cried her heart out for the first couple of days and then decided to go on a trip, her honeymoon trip to be exact, and get a little perspective.

Throughout the story, you find instances of woman power deeply rooted in the context...so you have Vijaylakshmi or VJ, the namesake of Rani’s ex-fiancée, who is raising a kid on her own, is very much aware of her own sexuality and who shows Rani how to not take herself or life that seriously...then you have Roxettee, another character who stays with us for just a couple of minutes but creates a statement  that women today do take the role of bread earners for their family very seriously and handle it very effectively. And of course, then there’s Rani herself, who slowly but surely takes a stand... she learns how to survive in foreign lands, she learns to enjoy herself dancing in the nightclub without feeling guilty, she learns how to protect herself while fighting off a robber or for that matter improvise when she drives her drunk friends back to the hostel, she learns to be aware about her own sexuality when she kisses the Italian restaurateur, she even learns to appreciate her friends when she decides to postpone her discussion with Vijay just to hang out with them (which actually gets a big thumbs up since most of us are guilty of choosing the guy over our friends) and finally she learns to put her own needs first, deciding to let go of her relationship with Vijay.

In the end you find her almost the same in terms of appearance and mannerism, the same heavily accented English, the same Indian kurti, albeit a more stylish one...but what changes drastically is her poise and her attitude towards life and herself. This is a woman who knows her own mind, one who is self assured and confident and who does not need some prince charming by her side to validate her existence. The best example of her sensibility shines through in the way she rejects Vijay, with kindness and grace, thanking him for everything.

This is Rani’s journey of self discovery, a journey which reveals the true mark of a woman of the world. This lady has broken every stereotype there is and given us a character we can associate with on so many levels.

Maybe this is what feminism looks like in the real life...