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Victoria and Abdul or How to whitewash history

WhenSultansBowled

WhenSultansBowled

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On 22/09/2017, a movie is being released: Victoria and Abdul

IMDB summary: Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T504u17Ao9A

So, they are making a movie where the generous Queen is so good to her Indian servant.

Now, ladies and gents, I ain't a liberal or far right religious zealot. Neither do I care about politics etc. But here Hollywood is whitewashing history* and so I feel a moral urge to denounce this **.

The British Empire massacred civilians in Amritser in cold blood, produced famines (in Bengal and Ireland) and killed people all around the world for centuries.

Let's not forget. This movie and its jokes are an insult to millions who died.

*My father still recalls Brith Empire's rule in Pak/Ind by what his father told him. So we ain't talking about ancient stuff here.
 
The movie's not about what the British did in India, it's about the Queen and her relationship with some Indian servant.
 
I think the the viceroy's house is far worse in this regard.


People may also find this interesting. I'm not Tharoor's biggest fan but he generally raises interesting points

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v95llM7fpok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Looks like a poor copy of this from the late 90s.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DsnOyuU2o6A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Rather than complain about the film that has been made, make your own version. If enough people feel like you, you can use crowd funding.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Or don't. No one cares.
Click to expand...

I get annoyed at the constant moaning by some. Its simple, if you dont like the way the story is told- dont watch it. Recently, there was controversy about some film that had a white actor playing some Arab role. Why complain, make your own film and cast as you want.
 
There is no such thing - or name - as 'Abdul'.

Abd means slave or servant,
Ul - or El - means 'The' as in definite article.

Hence:
Abd-Ul-Llah - slave or servant of God
Abd-Ur-Rahman - slave or servant of The Most Gracious.
And so on.
 
Jadz said:
There is no such thing - or name - as 'Abdul'.

Abd means slave or servant,
Ul - or El - means 'The' as in definite article.

Hence:
Abd-Ul-Llah - slave or servant of God
Abd-Ur-Rahman - slave or servant of The Most Gracious.
And so on.
Click to expand...

Abdul is a common name in India. Names like Abdul Mujir, Abdul Karim are common Muslim names in India.
 
troodon said:
Abdul is a common name in India. Names like Abdul Mujir, Abdul Karim are common Muslim names in India.
Click to expand...


Thank you, I did not know that this name was so common.

I am merely saying that the word 'Abdul' is not a name - it means 'the slave of' or 'the servant of'.

'Abd' is an Arabic word, and - as mentioned above - just means 'slave' or 'servant'.

Hopefully, people - Muslims - will educate themselves about the meaning of their names.
 
Bewal Express said:
I get annoyed at the constant moaning by some. Its simple, if you dont like the way the story is told- dont watch it. Recently, there was controversy about some film that had a white actor playing some Arab role. Why complain, make your own film and cast as you want.
Click to expand...

A white actor playing an Arab role would look stupid anyway, the moaning would be understandable there because the integrity of the film would suffer as a result. In this case I don't know what there is to protest about. So the Queen had some random Indian servant. Yeah ok.
 
I've read about this relationship, very interesting so will watch the movie.

Both werent the best looking people but seem to connect so well.
 
Bewal Express said:
I get annoyed at the constant moaning by some. Its simple, if you dont like the way the story is told- dont watch it. Recently, there was controversy about some film that had a white actor playing some Arab role. Why complain, make your own film and cast as you want.
Click to expand...

Aladdin live action remake one where they cast a British actress as Princess Jasmine.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
A white actor playing an Arab role would look stupid anyway, the moaning would be understandable there because the integrity of the film would suffer as a result. In this case I don't know what there is to protest about. So the Queen had some random Indian servant. Yeah ok.
Click to expand...

True but isnt that a problem for the film makers putting up the money, if they make a rubbish film they will suffer financially. What right has anyone else to complain?
 
Bewal Express said:
True but isnt that a problem for the film makers putting up the money, if they make a rubbish film they will suffer financially. What right has anyone else to complain?
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. These films are made largely with a white audience in mind anyway, but white audiences are also growing more discerning. For all I know it might well be white people complaining that the Arab is played by a white person. You don't get change until people complain, otherwise we'd still have white people blacking up to play black roles like 50 years ago.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Yes I agree. These films are made largely with a white audience in mind anyway, but white audiences are also growing more discerning. For all I know it might well be white people complaining that the Arab is played by a white person. You don't get change until people complain, otherwise we'd still have white people blacking up to play black roles like 50 years ago.
Click to expand...

The best complaint of all is not turning up. If for example they had Brad Pitt playing Nelson Mandela, the film would lose credibility and they would suffer the biggest punishment of all- loss of revenue. I dont see why people that dont put money into a film have a right to complain about the casting or portrayals.
 
Bewal Express said:
The best complaint of all is not turning up. If for example they had Brad Pitt playing Nelson Mandela, the film would lose credibility and they would suffer the biggest punishment of all- loss of revenue. I dont see why people that dont put money into a film have a right to complain about the casting or portrayals.
Click to expand...

I don't even know about the complaints you are talking about to be fair, you brought up the matter. What was the film and who was doing the complaining?
 
Bewal Express said:
The best complaint of all is not turning up. If for example they had Brad Pitt playing Nelson Mandela, the film would lose credibility and they would suffer the biggest punishment of all- loss of revenue. I dont see why people that dont put money into a film have a right to complain about the casting or portrayals.
Click to expand...

This. I hate people when they constantly complain so I make a point to constantly complain against their complaints.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I don't even know about the complaints you are talking about to be fair, you brought up the matter. What was the film and who was doing the complaining?
Click to expand...

A few years ago Spike Lee had a real go at Clint Eastwood about his war film and the lack of black characters.
 
Bewal Express said:
A few years ago Spike Lee had a real go at Clint Eastwood about his war film and the lack of black characters.
Click to expand...

I had no idea about that row until I googled it, turns out that Spike Lee was probably correct that Eastwood's films whitewashed the cast for his blockbuster war films, and in fact he did make his own war film in response which had black actors so not really the best example to make your point.
 
My Point is that Clint could put Chinese actors if he wants to, its his film. They are making films not documentaries, and if the films are rubbish then they will get punished at the box office. And btw, Clint was right about no black Soldiers on the Island at the time the film was set.
 
Bewal Express said:
My Point is that Clint could put Chinese actors if he wants to, its his film. They are making films not documentaries, and if the films are rubbish then they will get punished at the box office. And btw, Clint was right about no black Soldiers on the Island at the time the film was set.
Click to expand...

Lee seems to disagree on that point, but regardless of who is right, I don't see why people should feel they have to keep quiet on issues they feel strongly about. Film producers should feel free to spend their money how they like on their films and audiences should be free to critique them on their inaccuracies or blunders.
 
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