Stephen Frears - Victoria & Abdul

Victoria & Abdul tells the extraordinary true story of the amazing and unlikely friendship between Queen Victoria and a young clerk, Abdul Karim, who becomes her teacher, her spiritual advisor, and her devoted friend. In 1887, Abdul travels from India to present a ceremonial medal as part of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee but surprisingly finds favor with the elderly Queen. The unprecedented and unlikely relationship causes a battle within the royal household, pitting the Queen against court and family. Victoria & Abdul humorously explores questions of race, religion, power, and the farce of Empire through the prism of a highly unusual and deeply moving friendship.

I didn’t know the story of Victoria and Abdul. I didn’t know of Victoria’s affection for her Indian servant. Lee Hall wrote a brilliantly funny and topical and romantic script about diversity and class, about the most powerful woman in the world and a Muslim servant. To me it owed more to The Thief of Bagdad than to British films about the Raj. I said I could only make it with Judi Dench and by great good fortune, she agreed.