The Queen of My Dreams

The Queen Of My Dreams is the vibrant and energetic feature debut from Fawzia Mizra. Set in 1999 Toronto, the flick opens with aspiring young actor Azra (Amrit Kaur) introducing her girlfriend to a Bollywood film she used to watch with her mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha) when she was a child. Azra’s exuberant enactments of scenes from the movie (1969’s Aradhana, one of its songs giving this film its title) paint her in direct opposition to her more conservative parent. When her dad (Hamza Haq) suddenly passes away, Azra travels to Karachi with her brother (Ali A Kazmi) for the funeral. Mariam’s traditionalist views cause friction between the pair, but Azra seeks to reconnect with her mother through their shared love for that classic movie they used to watch together.

Azra’s quest for understanding comes in the form of flashbacks to 1960s Karachi where a younger Mariam (also played by Kaur) sparks a romance with her future husband. Filled with colour, music and dance, these scenes are like stepping into a Bollywood movie, with some sequences even depicting characters recreating moments from Aradhana. With no shortage of charm and personality, Azra’s imaginings of her mother’s past are a unique way of presenting this familiar tale of two generations finding common ground. However, with no organic way of merging past with present, Mizra’s debut often feels like it’s trying to be multiple features at once.

This sense of disconnect is only heightened at the halfway point, where the flashbacks change to Azra’s own childhood growing up in Canada as she contends with being the only non-white kid in her class while exploring her burgeoning sexuality.  While the themes touched upon in this section are just as well-trodden as those in the rest of the film, the filmmaker nevertheless handles them with care, scattering heartfelt and emotionally resonating interactions throughout.

The Queen Of My Dreams is a boisterous and tender mother-and-daughter story, which examines generational differences within a South-Asian family. It’s also a coming-of-age tale about a daughter connecting with her mother, a love story and a homage to classic Bollywood. Though Mizra explores each of these separate elements with equal parts style and compassion, these never quite come together into a satisfying whole.

Andrew Murray

The Queen of My Dreams is released in select cinemas on 13^th September 2024.

Watch the trailer for The Queen of My Dreams here: