Showing posts with label Phoolan Devi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phoolan Devi. Show all posts
I hated myself during the shoot of Bandit Queen-Shekhar Kapur
9:55 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; April 8, 2026)
Shekhar Kapur is often asked when he will make another film like Bandit Queen (1994). The film, which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1996, continues to stand out in Kapur’s oeuvre. But he has no plans to revisit it. “Kaise banaoon? Mar jaunga,” he said at the recently concluded International Film Festival of Delhi.
In a conversation with Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Artistic Director, IFFD, the filmmaker reflected on why he couldn’t imagine making another film like Bandit Queen, and how “everything about Masoom (1983) is Delhi.”
‘I APPROACHED BANDIT QUEEN FROM A PLACE OF GUILT – THAT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED’
Discussing the journey of Bandit Queen, a film that chronicles the life of Phoolan Devi and lays bare the brutal realities of caste, gender violence and survival, Shekhar reflected on the emotional toll of making it.
“It’s difficult to describe the journey of Bandit Queen. I used to live in Nizamuddin at that time. I read about Phoolan Devi – it used to appear on the second or third page of the newspaper. Mujhe pata hi nahi tha ki yeh duniya hai kya. I didn’t know a world that existed right at my doorstep,” he said.
Shekhar elaborated how every film begins with an attitude. “Every filmmaker has to have an approach. I approached the film from a place of guilt – that I am responsible for what happened there. I have this tendency of becoming every character – as if it is me. Unless I become the character, I don’t know how to explain it to the actor.”
Discussing the everyday language used for girls, he told Vani, “In Punjabi, we say, ‘Kinni pyari hai, kinni soni hai, kinni sharmili hai’. Then I started thinking – this is the worst thing to say to a young girl. ‘Kinni sharmili hai’ means how submissive she is.” That thought shaped the film.
He shared, “Then I started asking – who am I in this film? I am a macho Punjabi man. It became a film that fundamentally said: rape is not a sexual act, it is an act of domination. It has nothing to do with sexuality.”
‘Bandit Queen was an expose of macho Shekhar Kapur’
At a certain point, he said, the film takes over. “Banate banate film ki ek marzi aa jati hai. And then the film takes over. You are no longer the director – you are following the dictates of the story.” After a pause, Shekhar spoke about filming one of the most difficult scenes of Bandit Queen.
He told the audience, “I was thinking for days – how do I shoot the gang rape scene? In films, such scenes are often shown as sexual. I sat locked in a room for two nights, trying to understand – what does it mean to be raped? What does it feel like? How do I shoot a rape scene and take the sex out of it? So, if you watch Bandit Queen – the scene is suggestive. Darwaza khul raha hai, band ho raha hai, log aa rahe hain – it’s all very suggestive. But I knew what was happening there. And so, while directing, I was constantly throwing up. The crew was watching me – ‘What is happening to him?’ I said, ‘Kal shoot karte hain, ab nahi ho raha.’ But they said, ‘Abhi shoot kar ke khatam karte hain.’ People ask me – ‘Bandit Queen jaisi film phir se kab banayenge?’ Kaise banaoon? Mar jaunga. I started hating myself, I hated myself during the shoot of Bandit Queen.”
After the film released, he recalled, even those close to him were unsure. They would tell him, “Film aise thode hi banti hai, Shekhar? Film mein gaane hote hain.” He said, “Par maine nahi banayi. Film ne khud ko banaya. Bandit Queen was an expose of macho Shekhar Kapur.”
‘Everything about Masoom is Delhi’
Speaking about Masoom (1983), Shekhar said, “Everything about Masoom is Delhi. At that time, Delhi was transitioning – from a bureaucratic city to a business city. Everyone I spoke to would say, ‘I do import-export.’ That’s how Saeed Jaffrey’s character’s profession came about. Masoom was not set in Delhi because it was easier to shoot there – it was because I knew these people.”
Delhi Crime, Poacher fame Richie Mehta's next based on dacoit-turned-politician Phoolan Devi’s life
8:19 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 30, 2025)
What’s Richie Mehta making next? The eager question follows the release of each of his works, from the International Emmy-winning Delhi Crime (2019) to the investigative thriller Poacher (2024). mid-day has learnt that the acclaimed filmmaker will capture the life of Phoolan Devi in his next web series, casting for which is underway.
A source reveals, “The script was locked last month. Richie has been talking to several actors from mainstream and indie cinema for Phoolan’s role. He is primarily looking for an actor who can carry the weight of her story from her young years to the end. A Bollywood actor, who fronts a popular web series, recently auditioned for the part, performing a jail sequence, but Richie wants to look at more options.”
Phoolan Devi’s journey not only stands for a woman’s rebellion, but also reflects the struggles of the oppressed caste and misogyny in India. Born into the oppressed Mallah caste, she was married off at 11 to a much older man. In the following years, she faced a series of brutal encounters—from being jailed on false charges, to being raped and tortured by the police, and ultimately pushed into the life of a bandit. She eventually led a gang of dacoits in the Chambal ravines.
After the 1981 Behmai massacre, where 22 Thakur men were executed in an act of retribution following her gang-rape by upper-caste dacoits, she became a symbol of caste and gender resistance. After surrendering in 1983 and serving 11 years in prison, she joined politics and was a Parliament member for the Samajwadi Party until her assassination in 2001.
Three decades ago, her life was brought on celluloid with Bandit Queen (1994). The source adds, “Through Phoolan’s story, Richie will explore themes of caste oppression, misogyny, and the limits of justice.” The series is expected to roll in August.
We e-mailed Mehta, who didn’t respond till press time.
Ajay Devgn keen to bring story of Phoolan Devi's assassin Sher Singh Rana to big screen?
7:59 AM
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 22, 2018)
After giving his nod to Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior — a biopic on Tanaji Malusare who served as one of Shivaji's generals in the 17th century — Ajay Devgn has apparently evinced his interest in another real-life story. It has been heard that the actor is keen on playing Sher Singh Rana, who was convicted for the assassination of Indian dacoit-turned-parliamentarian Phoolan Devi in 2001.
A source reveals, "What caught Ajay's attention is the interesting life of Rana, who escaped from Tihar jail in 2004, and claimed to have gone to Afghanistan to bring back the remains of the 12th century Indian ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan, before he was caught in Kolkata in 2006. He also penned a book on his journey, Jail Diary: Tihar Se Kabul-Kandahar Tak. Ajay is likely to start prepping for the film by next year."
While he is yet to zero in on a director, the source adds that Devgn is contemplating producing the biopic. For the uninitiated, Rana was accused of killing Phoolan Devi at her Delhi residence on July 25, 2001. He was convicted by the Delhi court in 2014 and is currently out on bail.
Seema Biswas: Rape, rants and finally a National Award
2:32 PM
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 5, 2014)
Twenty years have sped by but Bandit Queen still sends a shiver down the spine. For Seema Biswas it triggers off a memory....the film's casting director, Tigmanshu Dhulia, trying to persuade her to part with a photograph so he could show it to his director Shekhar Kapur. But Seema, who was busy with a new play she was putting up for the National School of Drama Repertory Company, had little time for Shekhar.
"It was only when I was told that the film was inspired by Phoolan Devi, who was currently in jail, that my interest was sparked. And prodded on by my seniors who insisted I should ask Shekhar for the script, I went to meet him," Seema recalls.
Once she had read the script, she realised that the story went beyond Phoolan and offered her an opportunity to showcase her histrionics. Still, she spent three nights tossing and turning, wondering what to do. Reason: Some graphic scenes of sexual abuse including a nude shot which was crucial to the plot.
When she questioned Shekhar, he pointed out that he wanted to portray her as a piece of meat which had been mashed under the wheels of a truck. "I understood what he meant but still found myself unable to do the nude scene. Eventually, they got a professional body double, to do the scene," says the actress.
However, being a dedicated stage artiste, Seema suffered through the rape scenes. Even though Shekhar relied on technique and close-ups to convey the horror of the act, he couldn't shield the debutante actress from the pain and humiliation that tormented her long after the "packup".
There was one rape scene that was particularly horrific. It was committed by Babu Gujjar, a ruthless mercenary who had abducted Phoolan in May 1979 and brutalized her till his lieutenant, Vikram Mallah, puts a bullet into his head.
"Anirudh Agarwal who plays Babu Gujjar was a very tall man who wore size 16 chappals. When he was on top of me, I was completeky traumatized even though Shekhar focussed only on my face and the expressions flitting across it. I later relived the moment, again and again, wondering how Phoolan had gone through the ordeal in real life," Seema shudders.
She had met the original dacoit's family while prepping for the role. She also tried to meet Phoolan in prison but was denied permission. Then, motivated by a joke she overheard on the set, "Vikram Mallah mar gaya, usse milne ke liye ab thode hi Nirmal Pandey (who was playing him on screen) upar jayega!", she decided to pull off the role on her own.
Seema met the real Bandit Queen at the Siri Fort auditorium in Delhi during the International Film Festival of India. She was at the festival with her mother, when Shekhar called her up to his room, saying he had a surprise for her. "I thought he wanted me to meet Sridevi, one of my favourite Bollywood actresses, but turned out it was Phoolan!" she flashbacks.
The dacoit initially expressed her narazgi over the fact that Seema hadn't met her. But when told that the actress had been refused permission, she smiled and admitted that she'd watched the film in her village. And the people who had seen her pain, pointed out to her that the actress on screen looked like she was suffering as much, while recreating her life. "That was my biggest compliment," Seema smiles.
However, despite her gritty performance, the film opened to a huge controversy with cries of banning it. That really surprised Seema because, as Shekhar pointed out, the intention was not to titillate but depict brutal reality, the kind that continues to make newspaper headlines. Disturbed by all the talk, Seema who had resigned from the Repertory for this role of a lifetime, went back to it and was happy doing plays till Sanjay Leela Bhansali offered her the role of Manisha Koirala's deaf-mute mother in his Khamoshi: The Musical.
"Many people told me not to accept the role as it might typecast me as a mother. But I wanted to prove that I was an actress and not a controversial 'item'. So, I accepted the offer and returned to Mumbai and Bollywood," she says.
It was while filming that she was surprised by a midnight call from a journalist from Assam, who had heard that she had won the National Award for Best Actress.
"He told me not to speak about it to anyone till I was officially intimated," she says, recalling how she had spent the sleepless night waiting for the newspaper to arrive "When it did there was no mention of the awards."
Restlessly, Seema wandered around the house and thought she heard a mention of the National Awards and her name on a Marathi channel. "But since I wasn't sure, I was afraid to take my parents into confidence. I didn't want them to be disappointed if the news turned out to be false," she recalls.
It was a while before the confirmation came on TV, followed by a flood of congratulatory phone calls. "Bandit Queen changed the course of my life and career," she admits two decades later.
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