Noted Indian director Shekhar Kapur’s sequel to the 1998 film ‘Elizabeth’ has just opened across theatres here and has already made news with Catholics angrily branding it as ‘anti-papist propaganda’.
Kapur, the director of popular Bollywood films such as ‘Mr India’, ‘Masoom’ and ‘Bandit Queen’, is the unlikely interpreter of Tudor history, and of that seminal moment in Britain’s story – the repulsing of the Spanish Armada.
The sequel to his acclaimed ‘Elizabeth’, titled ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’, stars Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Hollander, Abbie Cornish and Samantha Morton. It is billed as a thrilling tale of an era – the story of one woman’s crusade to control love, crush enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the western world.
The film’s synopsis says: “As Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Stuart conspires with Philip of Spain to topple the throne, Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s trusty advisor works tirelessly to protect her from the many plots and conspiracies against her.
“Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her attraction to Raleigh.”
But as people thronged to theatres, criticism mounted, mainly from Catholics from Rome, about the alleged distortion of history portrayed in the film. Kapur and the film’s producers have so far not commented on the criticism.
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