Do you ever get that sinking feeling , as though you are being pulled down or the world is just collapsing before your eyes..and does that leave you feeling depressed and despondent? This is exactly the same trauma that Rani (Kangana Ranaut) ,a middle class Punjabi girl , experiences when her fiancé Vijay(Rajkumarr Rao) calls off their wedding at the last moment. You would think it to be a lamenting saga sympathizing with her but director Vikas Bahl adopts a refreshingly delirious approach and tells the adventures of the female protagonist who decides to travel on her honeymoon all alone , establishing an implicit ode to women empowerment.

Rani is the quintessential conservative girl hailing from a small-town Mithaiwala family whose solo-travel(on honeymoon) marks her plunge to self-discovery. With a well-articulated narrative, resonating with the same sentiments that Shashi of English Vinglish carried , Queen brims with compassion and celebrates the joy of breaking free. It also reinforces the fact that - no man is foreign. The language barrier begins to fade when Rani befriends a Parisian waitress, shares flat with inmates who happens to be boys ,but she remains in the confines of her traditions and yet defies the norms set by others. You rejoice when she triumphs over a mugger, lets her hair down to Bollywood remix at a pub, gets drunk ,does some nut-crazy talks with strangers and inadvertently buys souvenirs from a sex shop. Bahl's deft direction with splendid cinematography handles these aspects pretty well. Amit Trivedi's soulful music brings in an added advantage but the dialogues(additionally penned by Kangana herself!) replete with humor, are bang-on!

The plot however gets meandering and over-indulgent at times, Rani's first kiss and the golgappa becoming a rage in the Dutch boulevard appear fabricated but those are minor passable glitches .The beauty lies in the authenticity of the characters and Bahl brings out the flavor of the NRI influences in a refreshing way. Specially in one of those conversations where Rani goes to her meet her NRI aunt's family and they pretend to express grief over her getting jilted at her wedding.

The film benefits from the bravura performance by Kangana who carries the film on her shoulders with aplomb. Her Rani doesn't shy from the problems, she chooses to embrace them and tries to find a solution. Sweet and diligent, yet strong willed and individualistic, Queen stands as the epitome of a liberated and independent Indian woman.

Rajkumar Rao is brilliant as her egotist fiancé and his portrayal of an archetypal MCP is terrific. Lisa Hayden is a complete revelation playing the unapologetic Vijaylaksmi.The depiction of the refusal to feign hypocritical coyness while encountering the physical relationships is no mean feat and she does it with gusto.

Queen is a gem and one must watch it for Kangana's heartfelt act.Right from its start till the ending credits rolling and paying tribute to Facebook,its a winner all the way. I strongly recommend that you go for it.