Bandit Queen (1994)
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100% of critics liked it
(25 reviews) -
73% of users liked it
(3,286 ratings)
Bandit Queen, based on the true story of legendary female warrior Phoolan Devi, is a confrontational epic that paints a far different picture of India from other arthouse productions. Devi (Seema Biswas) is married at age 11, abandoned by her husband when she resists his advances, and turned into a… More Bandit Queen, based on the true story of legendary female warrior Phoolan Devi, is a confrontational epic that paints a far different picture of India from other arthouse productions. Devi (Seema Biswas) is married at age 11, abandoned by her husband when she resists his advances, and turned into a social outcast who, at one point, is gang-raped by the upper-caste men of one village. She later gets her revenge by organizing a massacre that leaves 20 villagers dead. Devi ultimately leads a band of latter-day Robin Hoods on bold raids against landowners in Central India during the late '70s and early '80s, often taking their spoils and redistributing them to poor tenant farmers. By the time she is arrested in 1983, Devi has become a folk hero, especially to the women who live in rural India's brutally patriarchal society. A full-fledged commercial production, handsomely produced and directed by talented Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (who emerged from the country's vaunted "Bollywood" system), Bandit Queen painfully exposes a controversial aspect of Indian culture, while providing a triumphant portrait of female empowerment. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Directed By
- Shekhar Kapur
- Written By
- Mala Sen
- Genres
- Documentary, Drama, Art House & International
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jun 30, 1995 Wide
- Studio
- Hallmark Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
This is an eye-filling and often stirring movie.
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David Jenkins, Time Out
The numerous, unflinchingly filmed scenes of public and gang rape make this a visceral, if gruelling, experience, especially when juxtaposed with sprawling, beautifully photographed vistas of the Indian deserts and mountain ranges.
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
An astonishing, overpowering piece of rabble-rousing, consciousness-raising, epic-scale filmmaking.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Seema Biswas is convincing in the role: small, fierce, dark-eyed and indomitable.
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John Hartl, Film.com
At the center of the movie are two fine actresses who make Phoolan's unsettled character seem inevitable.
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Cast
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Seema Biswas
as Phoolan Devi
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Nirmal Pandey
as Vikram Mallah
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Manoj Bajpai
as Man Singh
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Rajesh Vivek
as Mustaquim
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Govind Namdeo
as SriRam
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Saurabh Shukla
as Kailash
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Raghubir Yadav
as Madho
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Harish
as Tarika
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Sanjeev Kumar
as Poolan/Man Singh Gang
