PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON STEPHEN FREARS 19TH CENTURY DRAMA 'VICTORIA AND ABDUL' WITH JUDI DENCH AND ALI FAZAL

The movie bows in cinemas this September

Yesterday we had Leopold II of Belgium, and today here's another shamelessly ruthless tyrant that hoarded undeserved wealth by exploiting and enslaving the brutally oppressed people in the humiliated colonies. British queen Victoria in VICTORIA AND ABDUL, a new period set drama coming from director Stephen Frears (Queen, Philomena, Dangerous Liaisons) with Dame Judi Dench playing the queen for the second time, twenty years after she played the greedy monarch in Mrs. Brown. The movie should arrive in theatres around Europe, Australia and America mid September.

A MOST UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP
The movie tells the extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s long rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s

Judi Dench is actually much older than Victoria was when she died

Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another

Dench also played queen Elizabeth on the big screens

that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes!

The movie was shot in Scotland and England

Bollywood actor, whom you've seen in Furious 7, Ali Fazal takes the second lead role alongside Dame Judi, as the Indian clerk Abdul. Eddie Izzard joins the cast as Bertie, Prince of Wales who disapproved of the relationship and tried to drive Karim out of the Royal Household. Also joining the cast are Tim Pigott Smith as Sir Henry Ponsonby (it was his last role), Michael Gambon as Lord Salisbury, Olivia Williams as Baroness Churchill and others. Oscar nominee, costume designer Consolata Boyle had prepared more than 600 colourful costumes for Abdul, out of which only the best ones were chosen for the actual shooting to depict

Frears and Dench already worked together on Philomena

the fashion of the 19th century, while Victoria's wardrobe was even more numerous in items and richness. It took many months for the costumes to be prepared. When Abdul, after studying the etiquette for many months, arrived to English court, because the snobbish monarch

The movie was based on Shrabani Basu's book

was curious about her subjects in India as one might be about some exotic pets, he was actually made to kiss her feet, but later on he became her official clerk and trusted confidante.