QUEEN.

 Couple of weeks back this new unconventional bollywood movie named “ QUEEN” releases and there is a lot of frenzy about it all around but in a good way. Whatsapp statuses, Facebook updates, tweets it is all over the place. Overnight the protagonist of the movie Kangana Ranaut became literally and metaphorically the queen. So I had to go see it myself and just like that I hit the theatre with two of my friends. And for once I was happy that the movie lived up to all the hype created about it actually a little more than that!

It was an amazing experience.We fell of the seats laughing in a few scenes and a few scenes just made us go Aww. So the story goes like this- It all starts on the eve of Rani’s wedding. All of a sudden her fiance refuses to marry her and the wedding is at a halt. Rani who was brought up in a traditional Hindu family in Delhi, like most of the girls in India, faces her worst nightmares when she hears those words coming out of her fiance. She is almost lost and ruined and doesn't have a clue as to what she is going to do next. You see for a traditional Indian girl like her who has been brought up and told that marriage,kids and her husband is what she is going to live for the rest of her life this is a matter of shame and a very big deal. It is not just about her and the fiance but their families, relatives and friends. Just when all seems lost, Rani out of her impulse decides to go on her honeymoon all by herself.( and impulsiveness is not a quality an Indian girl must possess)  For a girl who needs a sidekick to walk her to the grocery store next street, to travel thousands of miles on her own to a whole new unknown country requires a lot of courage. But this wasn't her fault, she was just brought up this way. Each and every decision she made in her life was that of her parent’s and her fiance’s, until this one of travelling all the way to Paris. That’s when the real adventure begins. Her whole life turns around. Somehow her impulse and courageous decision changes her whole life and grasps the audience.The best part was that the ending was nothing like the conventional bollywood style. She transforms and doesn't give in and lives for herself  just like a queen! I absolutely loved the way it ended. It wasn't much of an exaggeration for me, a very simply weaved story. Each of the characters have done an amazing job. So it is worth a watch!

 We came out of the theatre, completely satisfied and it struck me that hey each one of us is a queen in someway! (In context to the movie, of course!)

 Be it the part where you are raised in an orthodox Indian family, a patriarchal society or being dependent on others to make simple life decisions or to be told that you can’t have a life of your own, you were brought up this way and you have to satisfy the society’s norms. After a point of time you don’t question anything, it just becomes a way of life. Though one might say that times have changed, with urbanization, exposure for girls and all that. But has it TRULY changed for all? My answer would be, it quiet hasn't and will take a lot of time and work for that to happen because we aren't talking about mere structural -societal reform rather it is the minds of the people and the very way the society has been laid down. For centuries India has been a patriarchal society and to expect change all of a sudden would be very unrealistic.

The question is about equality and all those little things that empower her and help her stand up for herself. Oh, and if that doesn't happen you surely have the impulse and courage to go out there and discover yourself. The saddest part is that the question of self-discovery or empowerment shouldn't be about gender but equally given to the whole of humanity!

I guess all you can say for now is that gradually it is all going to change and you just have to hope for the best! Because movies like this surely give us some food for thought, perspective and with it’s wide reach and range of audience you can say that the spark of a small inner change has begun. One can surely glean a lot of things from Rani's life!

So remember all those girls and women out there, there are times when we feel lost, broken beyond repair. Times when you might almost curse your very existence. It isn't easy being a women out here. Times when you feel caged and left with nothing. But these times will change and we will make it happen. Not just for a bit of freedom and dignity but for that smile to shine brighter on your face, for yourself! Remember that you are beautiful, brave and you will not settle for nothing!

You are a warrior. You are a Queen.