Bandit Queen - Wikipedia Bandit Queen This article is about the 1994 film. For the British indie rock band, see Bandit Queen ( band ). For other uses, see The Bandit Queen ( disambiguation ). Bandit Queen Film poster बैंडिट क्वीन Directed by Shekhar Kapur Produced by Bobby Bedi Written by Ranjit Kapoor ( dialogue ) Mala Sen Starring Seema Biswas Nirmal Pandey Music by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Roger White Cinematography Ashok Mehta Edited by Renu Saluja Production company Kaleidoscope Entertainment, Channel4 Distributed by Koch Vision, USA 2004 ( DVD ) Release date 26 January 1994 ( 1994 - 01 - 26 ) Running time 119 minutes Country India Language Hindi Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian biographical film based on the life of Phoolan Devi as covered in the book India 's Bandit Queen : The True Story of Phoolan Devi by the Indian author Mala Sen. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. The music was composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie and Best Direction for that year. The film was premiered in the Directors ' Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The film was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Controversy 4 Awards 5 See also 6 Further reading 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot The film opens in the summer of 1968 at a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Phoolan is married to a twenty - something fellow called Puttilal ( Aditya Shrivastava ). Though child marriages are customary during that time, Phoolan 's mother Moola ( Savitri Raekwar ) objects to the timing of the match. Phoolan 's aging father Devideen ( Ram Charan Nirmalker ) conforming to his culture, regrettably disagrees, and Phoolan is sent off with Puttilal. Phoolan is exposed to some sexual and exploitative abuses, including the caste system. ( Phoolan 's family as well as Puttilal 's family belong to the lower ranked Mallah sub caste ; the higher ranked Thakur caste takes the lead in social and political situations. ) Puttilal is physically and sexually abusive, and Phoolan eventually runs away and returns home. As Phoolan grows older, she faces incidents of ( non-consensual ) fondling and groping from the Thakur men ( whose parents make up the panchayat or village government ). At the next town meeting, the panchayat wield their patriarchal authority to banish Phoolan from the village, since she will not consent to the sexual advances of the higher caste males, who treat her like sub-human chattel. Accordingly, Phoolan lives with her cousin Kailash ( Saurabh Shukla ). En route to another village, she encounters a troop of dakus ( bandits ) of the Babu Gujjar gang, led by Vikram Mallah Mastana ( Nirmal Pandey ). Phoolan stays with Kailash for a while, but is eventually compelled to leave. Angry and hopeless, Phoolan goes to the local police to try to have her ban lifted, but she is beaten, molested, and arrested by the police, who rape her while in custody. The Thakurs put up bail and have her released. But, unknown to her, the bail is a bribe ( paid, through the police, to Babu Gujjar 's gang ), and Babu Gujjar arrives to collect his prize. In May 1979, Phoolan is abducted by Babu Gujjar ( Anirudh Agarwal ). Gujjar is a physically imposing man and a ruthless, predatory mercenary. Although Gujjar 's lieutenant Vikram is sympathetic towards Phoolan, Gujjar indiscriminately brutalizes and humiliates her, until one day Vikram catches him raping her ( yet again ) and shoots him in the head. Vikram takes over the gang, and his empathy for Phoolan eventually grows into a mutually respectful mature adult relationship. Around this time, Phoolan revisits her former husband Puttilal, and with Vikram 's help, abducts him and exacts her justice for his rape and abuse, beating him up. She shares her closure with Vikram. All goes well until Thakur Shri Ram ( Govind Namdeo ) is released from prison. Thakur Shri Ram is the real gang leader ( boss of the erstwhile Gujjar ). Shri Ram returns to his gang and while Vikram receives him with respect, Shri Ram bristles at Vikram 's egalitarian leadership style and covets Phoolan. In August 1980, Shri Ram arranges to have Vikram assassinated, and abducts Phoolan, bringing her to the village of Behmai. Phoolan is repeatedly raped and beaten by Shri Ram and by the rest of the gang members, as punishment for her `` disrespect '' for his previous advances, and for her audacity at being an equal. The stunning and disturbing final humiliation and punishment is that she is stripped, paraded around Behmai, beaten and sent to fetch water from the well ( in full view of the village ). A severely traumatised Phoolan returns to her cousin Kailash. She recovers gradually, and seeks out Man Singh ( Manoj Bajpai ), an old friend of Vikram Mallah. Man Singh brings her to another large gang, led by Baba Mustakim ( Rajesh Vivek ). She relates her history to Baba and asks him for some men and weapons to form a gang. Baba Mustakim agrees, and Man Singh and Phoolan become the leaders for the new gang. Phoolan leads her new gang with courage, generosity, humility and shrewdness. Her stockpile and her legend grows. She becomes known as Phoolan Devi, the bandit queen. In February 1981, Baba Mustakim informs her of a large wedding in Behmai, with Thakur Shri Ram in attendance. As Phoolan departs, Baba Mustakim warns her to remain low key. Phoolan attacks the wedding party and her gang exacts revenge from the entire Thakur clan of Behmai. They round up the men and beat them up. Many of the men are finally shot. This act of vengeance brings her to the attention of the national law enforcement authorities ( in New Delhi ). The top police officials now begin a massive manhunt for Phoolan, and Thakur Shri Ram relishes the opportunity to come to their aid. The manhunt claims many lives in Phoolan 's gang. They are ultimately forced to hide out in the rugged ravines of Chambal without any food or water. Phoolan evaluates her options and decides to surrender. Her terms are to have her remaining mates protected and provided for ( the women and children in particular ). The film ends with Phoolan 's surrender in February 1983. The end credits indicate that all the charges against her were withdrawn ( including the charges of murder at Behmai ), and that she was released in 1994. Cast Seema Biswas as Phoolan Devi Nirmal Pandey as Vikram Mallah Aditya Shrivastava as Puttilal Ram Charan Nirmalker as Devideen Savitri Raekwaras Moola Gajraj Rao as Ashok Chand Thakur ( Sarpanch 's Son ) Saurabh Shukla as Kailash Manoj Bajpayee as Man Singh Raghuvir Yadav as Madho Rajesh Vivek as Baba Mustakim Anirudh Agarwal as Babu Gujjar Govind Namdeo as Thakur Shri Ram Shekhar Kapur as a lorry driver in a cameo role Anil Sahu as Dhanua Gangster With Vikram Mallaah. Controversy Although Phoolan Devi is a heroine in the film, she fiercely disputed its accuracy and fought to get it banned in India. She even threatened to immolate herself outside a theater if the film were not withdrawn. Eventually, she withdrew her objections after the producer Channel 4 paid her £ 40,000. Author - activist Arundhati Roy in her film review entitled, `` The Great Indian Rape Trick '', questioned the right to `` restage the rape of a living woman without her permission '', and charged Shekhar Kapur with exploiting Phoolan Devi and misrepresenting both her life and its meaning. Awards 1995 : National Film Award Best Feature Film in Hindi Best Actress : Seema Biswas Best Costume Design : Dolly Ahluwalia 1995 : Filmfare Award Critics Award for Best Movie 1997 : Filmfare Award Best Director : Shekhar Kapur Best Cinematographer : Ashok Mehta Best Female Debut : Seema Biswas See also Phoolan Devi Further reading Mala Sen, India 's Bandit Queen : The True Story of Phoolan Devi, London : Pandora / HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0 - 04 - 440888 - 9. Karen Gabriel, `` Reading Rape : Sexual Difference, Representational Excess and Narrative Containment '', in Manju Jain ( ed. ), Narratives of Indian Cinema, New Delhi : Primus, 2009. Karen Gabriel Karen Gabriel, Melodrama and the Nation : The Sexual Economies of Mainstream Bombay Cinema ( 1970 - 2000 ), New Delhi : Kali / Women Unlimited, 2010. See also List of submissions to the 67th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film References Jump up ^ Kotak, Ash ( 13 June 2011 ). `` Mala Sen obituary ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2016. Jump up ^ `` Anurag Kashyap : ' The perception of India cinema is changing ' ''. Digital Spy. Jump up ^ `` Shekhar Kapur, exclusive interview ''. Festival de Cannes. Jump up ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jump up ^ Let us Know Something About It In Detail. The real life Phoolan Devi was born in 1963 and was married when she was about 11. See Phoolan Devi for more details Jump up ^ `` Obituaries : Mala Sen ''. The Telegraph. 2011 - 05 - 30. Retrieved 2011 - 11 - 28. Jump up ^ The Great Indian Rape - Trick Archived 14 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. @ SAWNET - The South Asian Women 's NETwork, Retrieved 25 November 2011. External links Bandit Queen on IMDb Moxham, Roy ( 3 June 2010 ). Outlaw : India 's Bandit Queen and Me. Rider. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84604 - 182 - 2. National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi 1954 -- 1960 Mirza Ghalib ( 1954 ) Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje ( 1955 ) No Award ( 1956 ) Do Aankhen Barah Haath ( 1957 ) Madhumati ( 1958 ) Anari ( 1959 ) Mughal - e-Azam ( 1960 ) Certificate of Merit Jagriti ( 1954 ) Shree 420 and Devdas ( 1955 ) Basant Bahar ( 1956 ) Mother India and Musafir ( 1957 ) Lajwanti and Karigar ( 1958 ) No Award ( 1959 ) Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai and Kanoon ( 1960 ) 1961 -- 1980 Dharmputra ( 1961 ) Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam ( 1962 ) Bandini ( 1963 ) Dosti ( 1964 ) Shaheed ( 1965 ) -- ( 1966 ) Hamraaz ( 1967 ) Aashirwad ( 1968 ) Satyakam ( 1969 ) Anand ( 1970 ) -- ( 1971 ) Maya Darpan ( 1972 ) 27 Down ( 1973 ) No Award ( 1974 ) Nishant ( 1975 ) -- ( 1976 ) Shatranj Ke Khilari ( The Chess Players ) ( 1977 ) Kasturi and Junoon ( 1978 ) Sparsh ( 1979 ) Aakrosh ( 1980 ) Certificate of Merit Gunga Jumna and Pyaar Ki Pyaas ( 1961 ) No Award ( 1962 ) Mere Mehboob and Gumrah ( 1963 ) Yaadein and Geet Gaya Patharon Ne ( 1964 ) Oonche Log and Guide ( 1965 ) Discontinued after 1965 1981 -- 2000 Arohan ( 1981 ) Katha ( 1982 ) Ardh Satya ( 1983 ) Paar ( 1984 ) Anantyatra ( 1985 ) Mirch Masala ( 1986 ) Pestonjee ( 1987 ) Salaam Bombay ! ( 1988 ) Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro ( 1989 ) Drishti ( 1990 ) Diksha and Dharavi ( 1991 ) Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda ( 1992 ) Patang ( 1993 ) Mammo ( 1994 ) Bandit Queen ( 1995 ) Gudia ( 1996 ) Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa ( 1997 ) Godmother ( 1998 ) Shool ( 1999 ) Zubeidaa ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Dil Chahta Hai ( 2001 ) The Legend of Bhagat Singh ( 2002 ) Raghu Romeo ( 2003 ) Raincoat ( 2004 ) Black ( 2005 ) Khosla Ka Ghosla ( 2006 ) 1971 ( 2007 ) Rock On ! ! ( 2008 ) Paa ( 2009 ) Do Dooni Chaar ( 2010 ) I Am ( 2011 ) Filmistaan ( 2012 ) Jolly LLB ( 2013 ) Queen ( 2014 ) Dum Laga Ke Haisha ( 2015 ) Neerja ( 2016 ) Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film 1971 - 1980 Uski Roti ( 1971 ) Ashadh Ka Ek Din ( 1972 ) Maya Darpan ( 1973 ) Duvidha ( 1974 ) Rajnigandha ( 1975 ) Aandhi ( 1976 ) Mrigayaa ( 1977 ) Shatranj Ke Khilari ( The Chess Players ) ( 1978 ) Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan ( 1979 ) Jeena Yahan ( 1980 ) 1981 - 2000 Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai ( 1981 ) Aadharshila ( 1982 ) Masoom ( 1983 ) Sookha ( 1984 ) Damul ( 1985 ) Aghaat ( 1986 ) Om - Dar - Ba - Dar ( 1989 ) Khayal Gatha ( 1990 ) Kasba ( 1991 ) Diksha ( 1992 ) Idiot ( 1993 ) Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa ( 1994 ) Bandit Queen ( 1995 ) Bombay ( 1996 ) Khamoshi ( 1997 ) Virasat ( 1998 ) Satya ( 1999 ) Sarfarosh ( 2000 ) 2001 - present Halo ( 2001 ) Dil Chahta Hai ( 2002 ) The Legend of Bhagat Singh ( 2003 ) Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. ( 2004 ) Dev and Yuva ( 2005 ) Black ( 2006 ) Lage Raho Munna Bhai ( 2007 ) Chak De ! India ( 2008 ) Mumbai Meri Jaan ( 2009 ) Firaaq ( 2010 ) Udaan ( 2011 ) Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ( 2012 ) Gangs of Wasseypur ( 2013 ) The Lunchbox ( 2014 ) Ankhon Dekhi ( 2015 ) Piku ( 2016 ) Neerja ( 2017 ) Newton ( 2018 ) Films directed by Shekhar Kapur Feature films Masoom ( 1983 ) Mr. India ( 1987 ) Bandit Queen ( 1994 ) Elizabeth ( 1998 ) The Four Feathers ( 2002 ) Elizabeth : The Golden Age ( 2007 ) Shorts New York, I Love You ( 2008 ) Passage ( 2009 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bandit_Queen&oldid=826166239 '' Categories : 1994 films Hindi - language films 1990s crime drama films 1990s biographical films Indian films Indian art films Indian biographical films Indian drama films Feminist films Films about organised crime in India Films about rape in India Rape and revenge films Films about the Indian caste system Films about women in India Films directed by Shekhar Kapur Films featuring a Best Actress National Award - winning performance 1990s Hindi - language films Films based on real people Cultural depictions of robbers Cultural depictions of Indian people Cultural depictions of women Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use dmy dates from November 2015 Use Indian English from November 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ಕನ್ನಡ नेपाल भाषा Polski Português தமிழ் తెలుగు Edit links This page was last edited on 17 February 2018, at 16 : 23. 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Question: who played the lead role in famous film bandit queen
Answer: Seema Biswas