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Bandit Queen (1994) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   1,164 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Shekhar Kapur
Writers:
Ranjit Kapoor (dialogue)
Mala Sen (book)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Bandit Queen on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 June 1995 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Drama more
Tagline:
She was the most feared outlaw in India. If the story wasn't true you wouldn't believe it... more
Plot:
The movie tells the story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994... more | add synopsis
Awards:
3 wins more
User Comments:
Tough viewing more

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Seema Biswas ... Phoolan Devi
Aditya Srivastava ... Puttilal
Agesh Markam ... Mad Woman
Ajai Rohilla ... Behmai Man
Anirudh Agarwal ... Babu Gujjar
Anil Sahu ... Vikram Gang Member
Anupam Shyam ... Ganshyam

Aseem Bajaj ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Ashok Bulani ... D.S.P
Ashok Sharma ... Ashokchand Servant
Avinash Nemade ... Doctor
Basant Rawat ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Chotelal Siraswal ... Vikram Gang Member
Deepak Chibber ... S.P. Bhind
Deepak Soni ... Miandad
Dhawal Gwaliori ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Dilip Raghuvanshi ... Commander Yadav
Gajraj Rao ... Ashokchand
G.B. Dixit ... Ala Singer
Girish Solanki ... Tarika's Partner
Govind Namdeo ... SriRam
Guddi ... Munni
Gyan Shivpuri ... Phool Singh
Harish ... Tarika
Hemant Mishra ... Policeman
Hemant Pandey ... Ashokchand's Friend
Jeetendra Shastri ... Bharat
Kamia Bhatt ... Rukhmani, age 11
K.D. Segan ... A.D.C
Khunni Lal Maina ... Pundit
Lakshmi ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang (as Lakshmi Narayan)
Mahesh Chandra ... Chief Minister
Malabai Sonwani ... Mother-in-law
Mandakini Goswami ... Kailash's Wife
Manoj Bajpai ... Man Singh
Nazim Hussain ... Vikram Gang Member
Nazim Patel ... Vikram Gang Member
Nirmal Pandey ... Vikram Mallah
Pallavi Bharti ... Little Girl
Paritosh Sand ... Devendra Singh
Pawan Gupta ... Vikram Gang Member
Pradeep Gupta ... Vikram Gang Member
Puran Bhatt ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Raghuvir Yadav ... Madho
Rajesh Vivek ... Mustaquim
Raj Kumar Kamie ... Thakur Gang
Rakesh Raekwar ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Ram Charan Nirmalker ... Devideen
Ranjit Chowdhry ... Shiv Narain (as Ranjit Chaudhry)
Ravi Sangde ... Messenger
Sanjeev Kumar ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
Saurabh Shukla ... Kailash
Savitri Raekwar ... Moola
Sitaram Panchal ... Lalaram
Sunil Gaekwad ... Rattan Chand
Sunita Bhatt ... Little Phoolan
Surendra Kora ... Behmai Man
Uma Yaish ... Rukhmani
Vibanshu Vaibhav ... Vikram Gang Member
Vijay Shukla ... Ashokchand's Friend
Vinod Tiwari ... Vikram Gang Member
Yogesh Gupta ... Poolan / Man Singh Gang
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Directed by
Shekhar Kapur 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Ranjit Kapoor  dialogue
Mala Sen  book "India's Bandit Queen"
Mala Sen  screenplay

Produced by
Bobby Bedi .... producer
Varsha Bedi .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 
Roger White 
 
Cinematography by
Ashok Mehta 
 
Film Editing by
Renu Saluja 
 
Casting by
Tigmanshu Dhulia 
 
Production Design by
Eve Mavrakis 
 
Art Direction by
Ashok Bhagat 
 
Costume Design by
Dolly Ahluwalia 
 
Makeup Department
Edwin Williams .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Stephen Barker .... post-production supervisor
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Higgins .... first assistant director
Alok Kapur .... third assistant director
Rajiv Maikhuri .... second assistant director
 
Sound Department
Richard King .... sound re-recording mixer
Robert Taylor .... production sound recordist
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Aseem Bajaj .... assistant camera
Vinod Narayanan .... focus puller
Giles Nuttgens .... additional photographer
 
Music Department
M. Arshad .... musical director
 
Other crew
Mike Higgins .... associate director
Pauline Hume .... title designer
Kannan Iyer .... assistant to director
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Phoolan Devi (India: Hindi title)
more
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
India | UK
Language:
Hindi | Assamese
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was banned by the Indian authorities due to its graphic scenes of sex and violence. It also incurred the wrath of its own subject, Phoolan Devi, who objected to the fact that she hadn't been invited to see the film. Devi claimed it was riddled with inaccuracies. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Hera Pheri (2000) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful:-
Tough viewing, 24 October 2001
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Phoolan Devi (played by Seema Biswas) is sold into marriage at 11 and is repeatedly abused from then onwards because she is a woman. She is partially liberated by Vikram Mallah (Nirmal Pandey), one of the bandits she is taken in by and eventually rises to lead the group, extracting vicious revenge on upper-cast men in repayment for what they had done to her.

The film is a fascinating account of the life of Phoolan Devi who was assassinated in September 2001. The film follows from rise (if you can call it that) from abused child to Bandit Queen. Scenes of abuse are tactfully portrayed with the focus on Phoolan's face rather than the act itself. This focus allows the viewer to see the pain that is inflicted by the abuse. This is still very hard to sit and watch be it the abuse by her husband at 11 or the gang rape of adulthood. It's sad that worldwide women are treated as second-class citizens, often subject to this type of terrible abuse as a matter of daily life - even sadder that many religions are interpreted to allow it.

Where the film is weak is the depiction of the two sets of violence - violence against Phoolan is shown as horrible and unforgivable as it should be, however her acts of retaliation are filmed with a more artistic camera and you get the feeling that we are meant to take it that these acts of violence are less horrible because they are revenge attacks. Many of those killed by Phoolan's gang had not done anything to her and were "innocent". The film should have a more even tone across all these actions.

The performances are roundly excellent. All characters no matter how repugnant or noble are played as totally believable - for many you see both sides of their characters. Seema Biswas is excellent as Phoolan Devi, she convinces throughout the film. The subject matter must have been very difficult to act through but she is without a flaw in the lead - the only problem being the slightly sympathetic edge towards her acts of revenge that the film gives.

The film is horrible viewing and yet inspiring that one woman could survive through such events in such a society. Phoolan lived with things that the vast majority of us will ever imagine, she rose up against amazing odds to marry above her caste and be elected to the Indian Parliament. Worth watching to help you be aware of the rest of the world and to ensure that you keep yourself kind towards others in all situations.

Long live Phoolan Devi. May she find more peace in death than she did in life.

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Don't take this movie as truth. infy_leo
Where can I find the DVD (NTSC - USA)? frenchwindows
how violent? emover
Socio-economic realities anshul2001anshul
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