Victoria and Abdul

We start out with a title: “Based on real events … mostly.” I take this to mean that at least 51% of the story is true, but up to 49% is bullshit. It seems that for the last 15 years of Victoria’s reign her court favorite was a Muslim who had managed to enchant her. Naturally, the rest of the court was not happy, even scandalized by some of the things she did with him. He got the title of the Munshi, which means clerk or teacher. He taught her some of the Urdu language.

So the broad strokes of the story are true. What I had trouble with was the portrayal of the Munshi as an almost saint-like figure. In every conflict with the royal household he is portrayed as the wronged party, and I just don’t believe it. Most everyone who wrote about him at the time agreed that he was not really very smart. It’s impossible, of course, to declare any truth in that matter, as there was blatant racism on display, but I can’t help thinking that at least some of it might be true. And there really was a basis for their jealousy. What I kept thinking about was Rasputin and the Romanovs. Not to suggest that he was anything like the Mad Monk, except in that he had the royal ear without any great qualifications for it.

We do see a few warts in this story, but only a few. He had gonorrhea, so he must have fucked around some, even though he had two wives. And he told Vicki that it was the Hindus who were responsible for the Sepoy Mutiny, which was ridiculous on its face, as Sepoys are Muslim. But that’s about it. Contemporary accounts (which must be read while realizing the ordinary court jealousy and the inherent racism of the accounts, of course) paint a picture of a man who was quite concerned with advancing himself in the court. Nothing wrong with that, but we see not even a hint of that here.

It is possible, I admit, that I was put into a grumpy mood by the early scenes of lavish waste, pomp, and ceremony of a dinner at the castle, or palace, or whatever. Each of the guests had about five servants just for him or her self! When the Queen finished her soup, all the plates were taken away. When the Queen was done, you were done. The obscene wealth and conspicuous, decadent lifestyle of these pampered parasites is just plain offensive to me as an American. I loathe them, very much including Victoria. So maybe you’ll enjoy it. But I kept thinking, there is no way I could ever meet a royal of any rank, because I wouldn’t participate in their stinking rituals. I bow to no one, ever. As for not meeting the Queen’s eye, and for backing away from her glorious presence … don’t get me started. I just didn’t like this film, nor anyone in it.