I saw this Hollywood biopic about the Rani of Jhansi. It was very difficult to even find showtimes for it, because the movie didn't show up in Flixster or other movie listings. There was not a lot of advertising for it, and I had to seek it out.
The movie dramatizes the Rani's life and how she fought the British East India Company as one of the leaders of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. It's a little bit of a mixture between legend and historical fact. The cast has some British actors, such as Rupert Everett as Sir Hugo Rose, the army commander, and Nathaniel Parker as Sir Robert Hamilton, apparently a civilian Company man and major shareholder. Derek Jacobi plays the Prime Minister in some scenes with Queen Victoria. Those scenes include the Queen's Indian favorite, but this character is actually a fictionalization of the Victoria's later patronage of Abdul Karim, which didn't begin until 1887. So that's a little artistic license so that they can have Victoria be sympathetic to the Indian cause, even though she doesn't really have any power in government to make the Prime Minister do anything.
At first the Rani (and her husband) are loyal allies of the British East India Company. But when their infant son dies, they adopt a nephew as their son, and make him the new heir to the throne. A couple of Company officials witness the adoption, but after the death of her husband in 1853, the Company declares that they will not recognize the adopted son as a legitimate heir to the Raja, therefore the throne is "lapsed" and therefore the Company wants to annex Jhansi for the money and land. The still mourning Rani is shocked by this, and is forced to leave the palace with her son and retinue. A few years later, by the time of the Indian Mutiny, the Rani continues to be loyal to the British at first, asking them for protection from neighboring states that want to take over Jhansi, but the British ignore her letters. Eventually, she decides to throw in her lot with the rebels, and becomes an inspirational figure as well as an actual fighting warrior. One of her servants is of "untouchable" class, but treated fairly, and is so devoted that she poses as the Rani to lead the British away, allowing the Rani to escape with her son.
On the British side, the villainous Hamilton constantly calls the Indians barbarians and the Rani a "Jezebel" in particular. A typical chickenhawk civilian, he is also eager for war and bloodshed, comparing it to a foxhunt. Hamilton is contrasted to a young major, Robert Ellis, who is sympathetic to the Rani and tries to negotiate a diplomatic solution. Though Ellis tries to argue on the Rani's behalf, the British refuse to recognize her adopted son as rightful heir to the throne. The Rani in turn will not surrender to the British, and chooses to fight. The movie plays with the idea that the Rani and Ellis are friends and possibly attracted to each other, but it never gets far due to her devotion to her country.
I enjoyed the movie overall, especially the impressive sequence where the Rani trained women on saber fighting and shooting arrows. It reminded me of the Themyscira sequences in Wonder Woman. The actual battles with the British are bloody, but I appreciated that they filmed the night time sequences so you could actually see the action. (Why can't Hollywood do that all the time instead of doing stupid grimdark Game of Thrones CGI shit?) A couple of times we also see dead bodies hanging (like in Jojo Rabbit). I was glad that the movie only mentioned war crimes such as rapes, and did not feel the need to actually show these crimes onscreen. No need to be gratuitous, Hollywood. (There were atrocities on both sides, and I read on Wikipedia that the Rani was accused of being responsible for a massacre of English women and children at a garrison, though it's debated whether she was involved.) Anyway, Queen Victoria herself complains about the raping and pillaging at Jhansi, though an earlier scene did show some Indian Mutineers trying to kill British women and children, so the movie is acknowledging the brutality of both sides. Sir Hugh Rose at one point witnesses the Rani fighting and he is impressed enough to compare her to Joan of Arc.
Alas, the Mutiny is squashed and the British East India Company is merely replaced by the British Raj, but the movie ends on a hopeful note, talking about how the Rani lives on in legendary status as a feminist icon and freedom fighter for India.
ETA: It's a pity that this film disappeared from theatres so quickly, and I haven't found it available for purchase anywhere. Bollywood also released a biopic this year on the Rani, but it did not come out in English language, so I wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. In that film, apparently Sir Hugh Rose is the antagonist, along with a scheming Indian plotting against the Raja of Jhansi. Maybe this Manikarnika might be available for streaming somewhere with English subtitles? I'll have to look.
No comments:
Post a Comment