Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench will play Queen Victoria in a screen adaptation of Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidante , a book by the London-based Indian journalist and author Shrabani Basu. Stephen Frears, whom Ms. Dench has worked with in ‘Mrs. Henderson Presents’ and ‘Philomena’ will direct the film.
The book by Ms. Basu tells the story of the unusual bond that developed between Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, and Abdul Karim, a 24-year old Indian who was sent to London to wait at tables for the Queen during her golden jubilee celebrations. The Queen, devastated by the death of her Scottish attendant John Brown, found his replacement in the handsome Abdul.
An unconventional affection and friendship flowered between the ageing queen and Abdul, who was declared ‘munshi’ (teacher) to the queen. He became her Urdu instructor and she his English teacher. Soon they were spending long stretches of time together, their intense relationship viewed with alarm and disapproval by the royal household.
Author Shrabani Basu says she is “absolutely delighted” with the news about the film, calling the three at the helm – Stephen Frears as Director, Lee Hall as screenplay writer and Judi Dench as lead actor – a “dream team.”
She said that although she researched and wrote the story as a book, she knew that the story had all the makings of a good play or film. “It is such a dramatic story. It has all the elements: royalty, empire, human relationships, funny and sad at the same time. It is one of the hidden stories of history that people need to know about,” Ms. Basu told The Hindu .
Ms. Basu is also the author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan , and more recently of For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front , 1914-18.
