Victoria & Abdul reunites Academy Award winner Judi Dench with Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Frears (Florence Foster Jenkins, Philomena). The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and co-stars Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, and Michael Gambon.
Victoria & Abdul tells the extraordinary true story of the amazing and unlikely friendship between Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and a young clerk, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), 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 royale 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.
Dench had no reservations of revisiting the Queen in her later years. “I was very pleased that this suddenly came up. I had become absolutely absorbed in her story when we made Mrs. Brown and done all the homework, so, why say no? I admire Victoria as a remarkable person, and this was an irresistible story that had only recently come to light.”
Victoria & Abdul is rated PG.
