Abdul Karim was more than happy to travel to England to hand over a special coin to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, as instructed by his boss in British India. This is the point from where Victoria & Abdul takes off, to chronicle the story of how Karim’s year-long visit to England was extended to over a decade.
Perhaps Karim (played well by Ali Fazal) had no intentions at the outset to grab a special position in Queen Victoria's mind or life. Maybe he was not aware of the gravity of the breach of protocol he caused. But the relationship between the monarch and the servant had a massive impact on an empire preserved by the biggest martinets the world has ever seen.
Despite warnings by the sticklers of propriety in the royal household, the queen utilised her monarchic immunity to promote Karim to the position of Munshi and a close confidant. Karim, a Hafiz who claims to know the 114 Suras of Quran by heart, teaches the queen some Hindi/Urdu words, to help her connect to India.
She asks the royal household to send someone to India to bring back some mangoes, and chutney made of 'the queen of all fruits'.
Imagine the plight of an introverted queen, who is frequently caught dozing at the dinner table, as she transforms into an active, vibrant, party-loving personality. Judi Dench brilliantly portrays the temperamental peculiarity of a monarch “disagreeably attached to power” as she puts it. Dench is no stranger to this character, having played similar roles in Mrs Brown (1997) and Shakespeare in Love (1998).
Karim’s only intention was to be a blue-eyed boy, in the eyes of his bosses both in India and abroad; and he saw nothing wrong with growing closer to the queen. But look at the hardbound branch of executives who have to follow the procedures and protocols attached to the monarchy.
Karim’s proximity helps transform a grouchy queen into a powerful monarch – a queen who reminds everyone that she has the last word. At one point, she summons the top brass and makes each member pledge to be courteous to the Munshi.
Much to their dismay and distress, Karim, irrespective of the consequences, becomes a fair-haired part of the queen’s life. It is easy to imagine the roadblocks and conflicts of interest that may arise when someone is escalated to the position of a political confidant. It becomes a harder nut to crack when a monarch is involved. The royal lines make you laugh while the drama in the inner circles could be not be portrayed better than it has been in this film.
Although the story is largely dependent on real incidents that unfolded after 1887, the script is based on a book of the same name written by Shrabani Basu. While holidaying in the Isle of Wight, Shrabani chanced upon a painting of Karim at the Osborne House, a former resort that belonged to Queen Victoria. Another picture of him coupled with one of John Brown's at the old residence of the queen made her think about how Karim must have had a special place in the queen’s life. It is with this in mind that she penned a book about it in 2006.
It took Shrabani Basu four years to complete her book. Several original records were set ablaze immediately after the death of Queen Victoria.
That was a calculated move by the then government to wipe out that part of history in order to ensure that the queen’s reputation was free of ‘blemishes’. Basu went back to Agra, from where Karim began his journey. Karim passed away in 1909. She found his grave and found that he had no children. After the publication of the book in 2010, Basu has reiterated in several interviews that she is still searching for his relatives.
Some of his kin from Bengaluru got in touch with her and provided some information, helping her get her hands on some original journals – from a relative who had moved to Pakistan at the time of Partition in 1947. When the original journals of Karim reached Basu, it drew appreciation from his relatives, who were initially unwilling to help.
The relatives were all, by and large, keeping a low profile due to the portrayal of Karim as a never-do-well crook and idiot who tried to mislead the queen and the government for personal gains. Basu was instrumental in helping the family rewrite their history and look upon Karim with pride.
Screenwriter Lee Hall and director Stephen Frears had a tough time transforming the story into a costumed comedy for everyone to enjoy. To a large extent, Frears has succeeded in portraying the essence of conceited royalty, that is both fragile and wary of all things new.
Frears has some outstanding directorial credits to his name, for films like The Queen, Philomena among other. Ali Fazal, a Bollywood pick with his outstanding histrionics, has made Karim's role memorable.
The supporting actors have done their best in their assigned roles. Tim Piggot-Smith, who played Major General Sir Henry Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, could not see the movie to its completion due to his untimely death in April 2017. Piggot-Smith is best remembered for his role in The Jewel in the Crown – that fetched him the best actor award in BAFTA, 1985.
Renowned TV actor and stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard delivers a brilliant performance as Prince Albert; as does Michael Gambon as then Conservative Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.
The film has garnered mixed reviews, with some saying the queen was depicted as a lethargic monarch, thus tarnishing her image. Critics have slammed the film as irresponsible for letting a powerful queen off the hook. Some reviewers have called the film a realistic portrayal of a progressive outsider who stood in the way of white racist rulers.
As one of the official entries from the UK, the film drew large crowds at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2017.
(This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.).
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)