Read any article or ask someone personally and you will begin to feel that a typical Indian audience likes to watch a movie which is away from reality so that they don't have to think about the problems and hardships of life. In reality, if you watch this movie and give your full attention to it, your views might change too.
The best part about the movie is its Realism, about rural life and how harsh and cruel people can be. These are some things that a typical audience tries to avoid but the filmmaker did not shy away from showing them.
Acting - For the calibre that she has, Seema Biswas is really underrated. Her portrayal of the entire Character Arc is so believable. From when she was a simple village girl to the point where she became a Bandit. The best parts of her acting were in her rape scenes, which is either due to Amazing Direction or good use of imagination that it gets so close to truth.
Direction - Shekhar Kapur previously directed Mr. India, a mainstream film with a mythical plot while this film deals with reality. A sign of a Good Director is versality in his films which the man has proved. His ability to direct versatile films might be the reason he is currently in Hollywood.
Cinematography - Wide Shots, Close Ups, Top Shots, name any of it, they are there. But the use of immense bright light in the day and almost non-electrical sources like lanterns and candles at night was a brilliant execution.
Production Design - There is no doubt that the villages used might have really been in Rajasthan and were shown to be in UP. But no one has a doubt because go anywhere in North India and every rural area might actually look very similar.
Music - The film mainly has background music but have been used in the correct emotional time. Also, if you listen closely during the Temple Scene, you'll notice that the tune of "Sanu Ek Pal Chain Na Aave" is playing in the background. This is because the Music Composer of this movie is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The tune of this song was later adapted in the movie Raid and was sung by Nusrat's brother Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Overall, the film deserved a 10 on 10 but I'm taking 1 star away due to some facts I've come to know about the movie. The movie has sold itself as a true story, it did not say it is "Based on a True Story", it said it "Was" a true story. While in reality, it was adapted from a book of the same name and that book did talk about the life of Phoolan Devi in a more accurate way but neither did that book claim to be true.
Also, if you research the real Phoolan Devi's life, it turns out that she was part of a Land Dispute with her cousin and she also went to jail for that. She also went to jail multiple times after that. But none of this has been shown in the movie.
For these two reasons, it's a 9/10
The best part about the movie is its Realism, about rural life and how harsh and cruel people can be. These are some things that a typical audience tries to avoid but the filmmaker did not shy away from showing them.
Acting - For the calibre that she has, Seema Biswas is really underrated. Her portrayal of the entire Character Arc is so believable. From when she was a simple village girl to the point where she became a Bandit. The best parts of her acting were in her rape scenes, which is either due to Amazing Direction or good use of imagination that it gets so close to truth.
Direction - Shekhar Kapur previously directed Mr. India, a mainstream film with a mythical plot while this film deals with reality. A sign of a Good Director is versality in his films which the man has proved. His ability to direct versatile films might be the reason he is currently in Hollywood.
Cinematography - Wide Shots, Close Ups, Top Shots, name any of it, they are there. But the use of immense bright light in the day and almost non-electrical sources like lanterns and candles at night was a brilliant execution.
Production Design - There is no doubt that the villages used might have really been in Rajasthan and were shown to be in UP. But no one has a doubt because go anywhere in North India and every rural area might actually look very similar.
Music - The film mainly has background music but have been used in the correct emotional time. Also, if you listen closely during the Temple Scene, you'll notice that the tune of "Sanu Ek Pal Chain Na Aave" is playing in the background. This is because the Music Composer of this movie is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The tune of this song was later adapted in the movie Raid and was sung by Nusrat's brother Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Overall, the film deserved a 10 on 10 but I'm taking 1 star away due to some facts I've come to know about the movie. The movie has sold itself as a true story, it did not say it is "Based on a True Story", it said it "Was" a true story. While in reality, it was adapted from a book of the same name and that book did talk about the life of Phoolan Devi in a more accurate way but neither did that book claim to be true.
Also, if you research the real Phoolan Devi's life, it turns out that she was part of a Land Dispute with her cousin and she also went to jail for that. She also went to jail multiple times after that. But none of this has been shown in the movie.
For these two reasons, it's a 9/10