Bandit Queen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bandit Queen

Film poster
Directed by Shekhar Kapur
Produced by Bobby Bedi
Written by Ranjit Kapoor (dialogue)
Mala Sen
Starring Seema Biswas
Music by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Roger White
Editing by Renu Saluja
Distributed by Koch Vision, USA 2004 (DVD)
Release date(s) September 9, 1994
Running time 119 min.
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Bandit Queen is a 1994 film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

[edit] Plot

The movie is a story about Phoolan Devi, who was sent to prison in 1983, then later released in 1994. Phoolan eventually fought and won elections and became a member of India's parliament. She was eventually killed by the relatives of one of her victims. During the filming of this movie, Phoolan Devi, herself, contested the factual accuracy and portrayal of her rape. The film-makers denied her the right to view the film before it was released. Eventually Phoolan took to the Indian High Court to allow her to view the movie before hand. Although the court ruled in her favor, the film-makers still did not furnish a copy of the movie to her.

In the caste wars that are so common in the country Phoolan, a lower caste girl was married off and repeatedly raped as a child by her husband. She leaves him and comes back to her parents village but is propositioned by the son of the village chief. Protesting leads to her victimisation by the upper castes and finally being kidnapped by gang of dacoits. Eventually she herself takes to the gun and kills many upper caste men. Considered by many critics as one of India's 20 best films, the film was in the Cannes for three years before being released in India and banned again. Eventually the ban was lifted and the film became a moderate box office success in India while internationally it had received a lot of awards and success already.

[edit] External links

Languages