Victoria & Abdul

VICTORIA & ABDUL showcases the unlikely real life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim.  At the time, England also ruled India, making Queen Victoria Empress of India. The movie is based on the biography book Victoria & Abdul by Shrabani Basu. Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria and Ali Fazal plays Abdul. Both actors give outstanding performances.

The comedic parts of the film are in part because the British people who work for the queen do not understand much about Indian Muslim culture--they assume Abdul and his friend Mohammed (played by Adeel Akhtar) are Hindu and refer to them as "the Hindus"--or why the queen would keep Abdul as a servant beyond presenting the ceremonial coin. The queen rather enjoys Abdul's company and learns his language, culture, and religion. She embraces their differences.

THE YOUNG VICTORIA displays the early life of Queen Victoria, and now VICTORIA & ABDUL exhibits Queen Victoria's later years. She reigned for 63 years and seven months from 1837 until she died in 1901. The time was known as the Victorian era.

VICTORIA & ABDUL is currently playing in theatres.  The official Web site is http://www.focusfeatures.com/victoriaandabdul.