Locations in Europe: Paris, Amsterdam
Storyline
Star(s): Kangana Ranaut, Rajkumar Rao, Lisa Haydon
Songs/Dance: Songs for the film were shot in different locations in Paris and Amsterdam.
Indian/ International Crew:Collaboration between Indian and international crews. A crew of 25 people was flown from India, while the rest of the crew was taken from the European locations.
Language: Hindi
Line Producer/Production Manager Line Producer in Paris: Jet Films, Production Manager in Paris: Jim Damour, Line Producer in Amsterdam: Brenninkmeijeren & Isaacs Company
Director/Producer: Vikas Bahl (Director), Produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Phantom Films
Film Location Analysis
By Shikha Jhingan
The first half of the Paris sequence enhances Rani’s isolation by using wide-angle lenses and a tripod to capture her as a diminutive figure against the scale of the city.
Rani hails a taxi from Paris's airport to the Champs-Elysees and checks into a hotel. She meets Vijaylaxmi, a hotel staff member, on the balcony outside her room. At night, she goes out on her own to a restaurant where she dislikes the food. This scene was filmed at Le Vauban in Paris.
The next morning, the walking tour of the city begins with Banque Solfea at Av Opera and shows her walking through various sites, such as Café de la Paix. The song ‘Badra Bahar,’ plays in the background as we see her walking with a map in her hand. The locations on her walking tour include Love Lock Bridge on the Seine River. We see Rani standing against Palais Garneir, clicking photographs. A close-up of the golden sculptured figure on Pont Alexandre III is shown as a clicked image from Rani’s camera.
This leads to the tour of the 7th Arrondissement that leads Rani to the Eiffel Tower. The camera shows the iconic site from various angles as she starts running away from it. In fragmented cuts, we see Rani near Place du Trocadero across the Seine river, Rue de l'Universite, and Champs-Elysees, with each location intercut with the shot of the Eiffel Tower.
In several sequences, Rani is shown facing or walking towards the camera, and her startled gaze towards the Eiffel Tower and its ubiquitous presence is matched with her look towards the apparatus of the film itself.
The soundscape plays an important role in capturing her body in a state of shock. This is enhanced with the use of screeching cars as Rani struggles to cross the road. The Paris sequence also shows the dark side of the city, which brings out Rani’s sense of loneliness and anguish amidst crowded tourist sites visited by romantic couples.
In terms of colour palette, the first part of Paris is skewed towards blue, reflecting Rani’s troubled self. This contrasts with the Montmarte sequence, where we see the city in warmer colours as we see Rani at ease with her surroundings. For example, in the ‘Tanke Jhanke’ song, we see Rani and Vijay spend a fun day together. The Basilique du Sacre Coeur and the iconic La Maison Rose, or the Pink House of Montmarte, are prominently used in the song. Rani and Vijaylaxmi ride on the little train and sit on the steps leading to the Basilique among other tourists.
This sequence also depicts public spaces as sites for street performance, play, and outdoor leisure. The scene when Rani enters a nightclub in Paris was actually shot at Club NL in Amsterdam.
In Amsterdam, Rani checks into the Flying Pig Uptown Hostel, which is a favourite place for budget travellers. Vijay, played by Raj Kumar Rao, is shown coming out of Hotel Victoria, one of the oldest hotels in Amsterdam near the Central Station. Rani visits various sites in Amsterdam, including Dam Square, Holland Casino, and several canal sites. At Dam Square, Rani’s hostelmate performs music for the crowds to fund the foursome’s boating trip on the canal. Rani visits the Red Light District of Amsterdam with her three friends. In the city of Volendam, she participates in the food festival by setting up a food stall.
In Amsterdam, the camera remains much closer to Rani and her three friends, and in many sequences, the steady cam was used for shooting, with locations fluidly moving into each other to create transitions that aided in accentuating Rani’s mobile presence in the city. Rani is at ease with the city as well as the gaze of the camera.
The last meeting with Vijay takes place at the busy BullDog Café, and after hurriedly cutting off her conversation, Rani starts walking towards Paradiso Amsterdam. We see her crossing the area of Looiersgracht or the Tanners Canal area in the Jordaan neighbourhood. We also see Café de Vrijheid and many other street-side coffee shops in Amsterdam as Rani runs to claim her freedom. We finally see her entering the Paradiso in Amsterdam, where a live rock show is being performed for a dancing audience. Rani meets her three hostel friends, enjoys the concert in their company, and then finally bids them farewell.
The music director, Amit Trivedi, travelled to Paris and Amsterdam to capture the sounds and music of the two cities. According to Trivedi, the songs in the film were composed keeping in mind the use of musical instruments and the kind of sound one hears being performed by musicians on the streets of the two cities. In ‘Badra Bahar,’ Trivedi used the sound of brass instruments and guitar in the beginning to set the tone. Ambience and traffic sounds are mixed with the musical track, creating a sensual connection with the city. Alwyn and Lego, the sound designers, also spent some time in the two cities to pick up ambient sounds for their sound design. In Paris, they used the subtle sound of the lights to alert the walkers to stop at the pedestrian crossings, while in Amsterdam, they picked up a lot of laughter on the streets or in cafes and used that as an ambience.
Tourism
https://bollyspice.com/kangana-ranaut-visits-amsterdam-for-movie-queen/
http://blog.tripshelf.com/2017/02/10-destinations-in-europe-bollywood-has.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxuOsKovaps (Indian Girl in Europe): This video tracks all the locations in Amsterdam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvKwBI8c5ZU (Indian Girl Backpacking in Europe): Sejal Kumar begins this video with Amsterdam and stays in the same hostel that was home for Rani.
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/the-queen-effect-how-to-spot-a-desi-girl-abroad-557481
