Victoria & Abdul kneeling at a large statue of the Queen close to the Taj Mahal, talking to it and kissing its feet in respect. On 17 June 2016, it was reported that Judi Dench would play Queen Victoria in "Victoria & Abdul", a film based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu. Stephen Frears was set to direct. Dench had also portrayed Victoria in the 1997 film "Mrs Brown". On 5 August 2016, it was announced that Ali Fazal would play Victoria's confidant Abdul Karim, while the film would be co-produced by Working Title Films and BBC Films, and
Mrs Brown over the queen. Brown takes considerable liberties with court protocol, especially by addressing Her Majesty as ""woman"". He also quickly takes control over the Queen's daily activities, further aggravating the tensions between himself and the royal family and servants. The moniker ""Mrs Brown"", used both at the time and in the film, implied an improper, and perhaps sexual, relationship. The film does not directly address the contemporary suspicions that the Queen and Brown had had a sexual relationship and perhaps had even secretly married (see the article on Brown), though cartoons from the satirical magazine "Punch" are shown as being