''The Warrior Queen of Jhansi'' is a 2019 British
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...
film on the 1857
Indian Rebellion
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
against the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
.
The film was co-written, produced and directed by
Swati Bhise, with Charles Salmon as co-producer. The film was originally titled ''Swords and Sceptres: The Rani of Jhansi''.
Devika Bhise, who also co-wrote the script, plays the lead role of
Rani Lakshmibai
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...
. In November 2017,
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
and
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''Kin ...
joined the cast.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
was completed in December 2017.
Synopsis
The film is a historical story of the
Rani of Jhansi
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...
, a feminist icon in India and a fearless freedom fighter. She earned a reputation as the
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
of the East when in 1857 India, as a 24-year old general, she led her people into battle against the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. Her insurrection shifted the balance of power in the region and set in motion the demise of the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
and the beginning of the resistance against the ensuing
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
under
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
.
Cast
Release
In June 2019,
Roadside Attractions
Roadside Attractions is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, specializing largely in independent films. Lionsgate
Lions Gate ...
acquired the US distribution rights and slated the film for a Fall 2019 release. The official trailer of the film was launched by RoadsideFlix on 17 September 2019.
The film was released theatrically in Canada 15 November 2019 and in the United Kingdom on 6 December 2019.
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
later released the film on
Starz after which it was available for streaming on
Amazon Prime and
Hulu.
Critical reception
The film was screened at the British Film Festival and won the Impact Award at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival 2019. The film was also a recipient of the ReFrame stamp for gender parity.
On
review aggregator
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Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating of , . The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Warrior Queen of Jhansi'' has a fascinating real-life character at its center, but her story is ill-served by this heavy-handed adaptation." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film had a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews."
Leslie Felperin of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it an "impressive drama" where "Bhise brings an undeniable charisma to the central role" and a "rousing, passionate bit of film-making on a reasonably epic scale, with a cast of hundreds deployed for some big dusty battle scenes, which are duly impressive."
Rachit Gupta of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "with its heavy dialogue approach and constant attempt to showcase the characters as righteous, the film plays out like a costume drama." He did, however, praise the film's production value, particularly the casting.
Joe Leydon of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' lamented that "Unfortunately, despite some impressively executed battle sequences and a few aggressively colorful supporting performances, ''The Warrior Queen of Jhansi'' is too tepidly sincere to consistently excite or amuse."
Jeannette Catsoulis, writing in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', said that "
he movieis so dedicated to lionization and so declamatory in tone that it almost repels engagement," but praised "the gifted
Devika Bhise" and that "the movie's costumes, though, are exquisite and its star swings a sword like a champ."
Film reviewers noted anachronisms in the scenario. For example, the character of Saleem Khan who advises Queen Victoria is based on
Mohammed Abdul Karim, who did not become her advisor until 30 years later.
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrior Queen Of Jhansi, The
Films shot in India
2019 films
Films set in the 1850s
British Empire war films
Films set in the British Raj
Films about women in India
Cultural depictions of Rani Laxmibai
Films set in the Maratha Empire
History of India on film
Historical epic films
Films about the Indian Rebellion of 1857
British historical action films
2010s historical action films
Historical action films
2010s English-language films
2010s British films