Bleeding Queens

Bleeding Queens is a not a super-woman novel that a reader can find if the pleasure of Wonder Woman movie could be transferred to a novel of the same name. Neither is this a fiction book featuring the typical Chetan Bhagat style heroine whose only job is to somehow get along with the nincompoop or extraordinary looking male counterpart. Bleeding Queens has been written with a purpose which is wider and more important than only commercial success. Palak Kundra, the author of this novel, has some different plans with her very debut novel. She is aiming to bring about a revolutionary change in the caricature of fiction and disrupt the typical narrative with her bolder one. In short, Bleeding Queens can be seen as a novel which will prove to be an antithesis to the usual about fiction these days.

To begin with, I have read the book. (Yes, there are the persons who review a book even without reading it.) The novel is written in Hindi with some interventions of Punjabi language because the protagonist and her family and also the people around are mostly Punjabis. The events in the novel take place in Delhi and Delhi is the only location used as the backdrop. I will not go into the précis writing and won’t cut short the novel’s story for you guys because that is something you will have to read yourself and then only you can enjoy the work fully!

Diljit is the protagonist in the novel Bleeding Queens and she is as bold as the author herself is. She aspires to be an actress and she gets her inspiration from the leading and iconic figure in Bollywood today – Deepika Padukone. Everything would go usually save that night which changes not only Diljit’s life but everyone’s life around her completely! She is raped; her father dies fighting for her; her mother is left wounded and her lover and brother broken and mentally devastated. This thing called rape is not only a heinous crime but a sin which is way sinner than those cardinal sins mentioned in the scriptures! But, before you think it’s just usual and Diljit’s lover or her brother (Rohit and Karanveer respectively) fights for her honour and punishes those criminals, you are wrong! I am not reviewing a classic Hindi movie featuring Mithun da in which the only motive is revenge. I am reviewing a novel by an author which I really like and I believe this will surely be a trend-antagonist in Indian fiction!

Diljit, the wounded lioness, takes the charge and she does not only punishes the criminals but also leaves a message for the women around. She punishes the criminals so clinically that you are surely going to be reminded of Jason Statham from his iconic movie series – Mechanic! How does she take her revenge? How much her brother and lover help her? How much her mother encourages her? What’s the courageous and bolder message she gives to the women? To know all these, you should surely be reading Palak Kundra’s novel Bleeding Queens.

And to conclude my opinion, I will simply say that Palak has done the best could be done with this plot. She might seem limited in the terms of characters and the wayarounds of her narrative, but this was the demand of her motive. She has painted a character in the form of Diljit who will surely be the inspiration for many other Diljits out there. I am sure she does not mean the scenes of violence because we all know that there are laws to handle those criminals. But then, the question arises – how many of those criminals who rape women, children and even older women get capital punishment? How many of the fast track courts are actually fast? Many questions are there which Palak Kundra has tried to address and offer an alternative opinion. You will surely enjoy reading the novel and don’t forget to leave some words of encouragement, disagreement or just advice for Palak on Amazon and Goodreads. Below are the links to buy the book from Amazon:

Bleeding Queens: Amazon Kindle Edition (Cheaper)

Bleeding Queens: Paperback Edition on Amazon (free delivery for Prime members)