Bandit Queen

Bandit Queen

Infobox_Film
name = Bandit Queen


caption = Film poster
writer = Ranjit Kapoor (dialogue)
Mala Sen
starring = Seema Biswas
director = Shekhar Kapur
producer = Bobby Bedi
editing = Renu Saluja
distributor = Koch Vision, USA 2004 (DVD)
released = September 9 1994
runtime = 119 min.
country = India
language = Hindi
music = Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Roger White
awards =
budget =
imdb_id = 0109206|

"Bandit Queen" is a 1994 Bollywood 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.

Plot

The film opens in the summer of 1968 at a small village in Uttar Pradesh. Phoolan, eleven years old (played by Sunita Bhatt) [This is one of the many inaccuracies or creative licenses. The real life Phoolan Devi was born in 1963 and was married when she was about 11. See Phoolan Devi for more details] , 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) hesitates at first, but eventually agrees, and Phoolan is sent off with Puttilal.

Phoolan is exposed to some sobering realities, 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 decides to banish Phoolan from the village.

Accordingly, Phoolan leaves 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 cops (to try and have her ban lifted), but she is beaten, molested, and arrested by the cops. The Thakurs put up bail and have her released. But, unbeknownst to her, the bail is a bribe (paid, through the cops, 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 hard, violent and ruthless mercenary. Although Gujjar's lieutenant Vikram is sympathetic towards Phoolan, Gujjar indiscriminately brutalizes her, until one day Vikram catches him raping her and shoots him in the head. Vikram takes over the gang, and his empathy for Phoolan eventually grows into a relationship. Around this time, Phoolan revisits her former husband Puttilal, abducts him and savagely beats him up; after this cathartic outburst, 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 leadership style and covets Phoolan. In August 1980, Shri Ram arranges to have Vikram assassinated, and brings Phoolan to the village of Behmai. Phoolan is repeatedly raped by Shri Ram and by the rest of the gang members, as punishment for her "disrespect" for his previous advances. The stunning and disturbing final 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 quickly, 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 sordid tale 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 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 exacts revenge from the entire Thakur clan of Behmai. She rounds up the men and beats them up. She finally has all the men shot. This ruthless act of vengeful barbarism underscores her moniker and 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 quickly comes to their aid.

The manhunt claims many lives in Phoolan's gang. The 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 ... Phoolan Devi
* Nirmal Pandey ... Vikram Mallah
* Aditya Shrivastava ... Puttilal
* Ram Charan Nirmalker ... Devideen
* Savitri Raekwar ... Moola
* Saurabh Shukla ... Kailash
* Manoj Bajpai ... Man Singh
* Raghuvir Yadav ... Madho
* Rajesh Vivek ... Baba Mustakim
* Anirudh Agarwal ... Babu Gujjar
* Govind Namdeo ... Thakur Shri Ram

References

External links

* [http://www.sawnet.org/books/writing/roy_bq1.html Author Arundhati Roy's Critique of Bandit Queen]
*imdb title|id=0109206|title=Bandit Queen

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie
years=1995
before="Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa"
after="Bombay"


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bandit Queen E.P. — Infobox Album Name = Bandit Queen E.P. Type = remix Artist = Muslimgauze Released = 1996 Recorded = Genre = Length = Label = Pi TB PI1205 Producer = Reviews = Last album = Azzazin (1996) This album = Bandit Queen E.P. (1996) Next album = Minaret… …   Wikipedia

  • The Bandit Queen — may refer toPeople*Belle Starr *Judy Amar *Phoolan DeviFilm* The Bandit Queen (1950 film), a Western film directed by William Berke. * Bandit Queen , a film by Shekhar Kapoor on the life of Phoolan Devi …   Wikipedia

  • Bandit Queen of the Old West — Belle Starr …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • Phoolan Devi — Member of Parliament (11th Lok Sabha) In office 1996–1998 Constituency Mirzapur …   Wikipedia

  • Пхулан Деви — फूलन देवी Дата рождения: 10 августа …   Википедия

  • List of criminals by nickname — This article lists nicknames of notable criminals. #* .22 Caliber Killers mdash; Gary Lewingdon and Thaddus Lewingdon, U.S. serial killers [http://www.nbc4i.com/news/3915320/detail.html] * .44 Caliber Killer mdash; David Berkowitz, U.S. serial… …   Wikipedia

  • Seema Biswas — Infobox actor name = Seema Biswas সীমা বিশ্বাস caption = Seema Biswas birthdate = birth date and age|1965|1|14 location = Guwahati , India height = deathdate = birthname = filmfareawards=Best Debut: Bandit Queen (1996) nationalfilmawards=Best… …   Wikipedia

  • Devi, Phoolan — ▪ 2002       Indian bandit and politician (b. Aug. 10, 1963, Uttar Pradesh state, India d. July 25, 2001, New Delhi, India), was the notorious “Bandit Queen” who became legendary for both her acts of revenge on those who had abused her and her… …   Universalium

  • Dacoity — is a term used for banditry in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo Indian word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo Indian Words and Phrases (1903)[1] Banditry… …   Wikipedia

  • Shekhar Kapur — (auch: Chandrasekhar Kapur; * 6. Dezember 1945 in Lahore) ist ein indischer Schauspieler und Filmregisseur und früheres Model. Kapur ist der erste erfolgreiche Regisseur aus der Hindi Filmindustrie in Mumbai, der auch im britischen und US… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”