Victoria and Abdul

I saw the Judi Dench movie yesterday, and it's still rather hard to believe. The things she does for her favorite Indian seem too good to be true, like historical revisionism, yet Wikipedia cites multiple sources for the facts of Abdul Karim's life, offering proof for almost every incident depicted in the movie. There is a major detail altered, though: the movie pretends that Karim and Mohammed Buksh were supposed to visit England only for one brief ceremony to present a coin, but in real life it seems that these Indians had always been intended to serve the Queen for a year, and that she had requested them for her Jubilee. So this portrayal of Karim innocently and accidentally winning over the Queen to get them permanent jobs is a stretch of the truth. Yes, he extended a one year job into over a decade, but he did not turn a one day job into a sudden career move, against Buksh's wishes.


The film creates this artificial situation so that they can have Mohammed Buksh complain about hating England and being stuck there because of Abdul unexpectedly becoming Victoria's favorite. They do mine some nice humor out of Buksh thinking of the English as barbarians, but it becomes rather depressing to see him be sick from the cold English weather all the time. Even though Victoria at one point asks for gloves for the Indian servants, we never see them get gloves, ever. Then the movie sets up a conflict where Bertie and other English officials plot to oust the Munshi, and they ask Buksh to tell them something to discredit Abdul; I could not understand everything Mohammed said, but the gist was that even though he resented Abdul, he would not betray his fellow countryman for the despicable English.

As he gains power and prestige, Abdul Karim seems too innocent altogether. He's always cheerful, enthusiastic, and extraordinarily devoted to Victoria without explanation. There is one point where he even says that Victoria is more special to him than his own wife! That was just too over the top, and I can understand why some reviews criticize him as being "servile". The filmmakers shouldn't have pushed that angle so damn hard. Karim would have seemed more believable and human to me had they portrayed him as a person deliberately seeking promotions, for the sake of his family. (The film doesn't discuss his salary, or the fact that in real life Victoria gave him a land grant, helped his father get a pension, and let Abdul return to India for months-long visits with his family.) Without that information, and the suggestion that the feeling was mother/son between them, the film makes it seem like Abdul does everything selflessly for her, without regard to the benefits of patronage.

I mean, Abdul is charming, and I do like him in the movie, but I wish that he were more three-dimensional, instead of an "uncle Tom" as Buksh calls him. Abdul never asserts himself and Victoria graciously bestows privileges on him, making him rather passive about becoming Munshi. Meanwhile, Wikipedia cites incidents in which Abdul indeed asked to be elevated above menial tasks, because he used to be a clerk, and in which he felt insulted by being seated with servants. This sense of pride and honor (viewed by his enemies as arrogance above his station), shows that he is at least protective of his social rank like a realistic human being with faults, rather than an over-perfect attendant kissing his mistress's feet.

Judi Dench does an excellent job as always in a regal role, but at some points, hearing Victoria complain about her life, whining that "they don't know how hard it is to be queen" really smacked of self-pity. White privilege and class myopia like Brad's midlife crisis in Brad's Status. Just, why do we have to feel sorry for her being lonely, when she has so many people taking care of her, and she's Empress of India? I can feel sympathy for her as an old woman and widow needing fun and companionship, but for her being queen and expected to fulfill state duties? No, I'm not sorry for you being queen, lady. You want out? Then abdicate and ask your son to let you retire somewhere with your favorite people and stuff to entertain you.

Anyway, the only time they show Abdul being manipulative, is when he (offscreen) convinces Victoria that the Indian Mutiny of 1857 was started by Hindus, rather than Muslims. When Bertie and others correct her mistaken notion, Victoria feels humiliated and confronts Abdul about lying to her. They eventually make up, but it's the only suggestion in the movie that Abdul might have stretched a truth or glossed over history for his own advantage. (Had he done it to influence Victoria to be kinder to Muslims in British policy about India, that would make sense, though one would wonder if the rest of the British government would necessarily comply with Victoria's preferences.)

It is a good, charming film, but I'm still confused why the filmmakers seem to think that talk of money is distasteful. In the end, after Victoria dies and Abdul's family are evicted, we see them deported back to India, as if they've been stripped of all titles and wealth. However, in real life Abdul Karim had that land grant from Victoria, so he had a home to return to and enough money to take care of his family. Yet this information is never conveyed in words onscreen. No, we just see him alone, going to kiss the feet of a statue of Victoria, ever faithful, like a dog. I mean, what the fuck is wrong with acknowledging that he benefited financially from the relationship? Doesn't everyone seek social advancement to secure their future? Why is that a dirty thing that would taint the pure image of the Munshi's friendship with the monarch? It just makes me want to see The Black Prince all the more to see a different aspect of the British Raj.