I do love a badass bitch but I needed more Queen and less men
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi is a film that I heard about last fall and had hoped to see the film. Thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival I was able to see a screener of the Indian film about Rani (aka Queen) of Jhansi a woman of myth and history as a fearless freedom fighter who took on the British East Indian Company. The film is directed and written by Swati Bhise and co-written with Devika Bhise and Olivia Emden. The film stars Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb, Jodhi May, and Derek Jacobi in a film with a swashbuckling fight to the death, fight for freedom, and mythology of her life.
I wanted to love this film it has everything that always draws me to a film. A diverse cast, action, women in positive roles, and a great villain but somehow it misses the mark for me. It starts out so slow with too much explaining of history but still not enough information for people unaware of Indian history. The cast was fine but just didn’t connect with me. I wish the writing had gotten a punch of choosing aside. Either go into the history of England’s occupation of India stealing natural resources and murderous mayhem or just leap right into the Warrior Queen battling for her people.
It’s a solid film and I believe it just lost direction and needed editing to make it more cohesive focusing on the Indian warrior women. That was the film I wanted to see so felt less interested in the British ‘White hero’ that was a good guy compared to the others and wanted more about the Indian Queen from her acceptance of ‘untouchable’ caste women in her inner circle, how she inspired loyalty and social norms for women in India at that time.
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi
Directed by Swati Bhise
Written by Swati Bhise, Devika Bhise & Olivia Emden
Starring Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb with Jodhi May and Derek Jacobi
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi tells the true story of the legendary Rani (translation: Queen) of Jhansi, a feminist icon in India and a fearless freedom fighter. In 1857 India, this 24-year old General led her people into battle against the British Empire earning the reputation as the Joan of Arc of the East. This real-life Wonder Woman’s insurrection shifted the balance of power in the region and set in motion the demise of the notorious British East India Company and the beginning of the British Raj under Queen Victoria.
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