MoviePosters.2038.net

 

Bandit Queen (1994)

One woman dared to fight back

Original Title : Bandit Queen
Director : Shekhar Kapur
Writer : Ranjit Kapoor
Mala Sen
Genre : Drama
Country : India
Language : Hindi
Producer : Bobby Bedi , Varsha Bedi
Music : Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Roger White
Photography : Ashok Mehta
IMDB ID : 0109206
OpenSubtitles.orgSearch Subtitles on opensubtitles.org
poster for "Bandit Queen" by Shekhar Kapur (1994)
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
 

Starring

ÂSeema Biswas Phoolan Devi
ÂAditya Srivastava Puttilal
ÂAgesh Markam Mad Woman
ÂAjai Rohilla Behmai Man
ÂAnirudh Agarwal Babu Gujjar
ÂAnil Sahu Vikram Gang Member
ÂAnupam Shyam Ganshyam
ÂAseem Bajaj Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂAshok Bulani D.S.P
ÂAshok Sharma Ashokchand Servant
ÂAvinash Nemade Doctor
ÂBasant Rawat Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂChotelal Siraswal Vikram Gang Member
ÂDeepak Chibber S.P. Bhind
ÂDeepak Soni Miandad
ÂDhawal Gwaliori Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂDilip Raghuvanshi Commander Yadav
ÂGajraj Rao Ashokchand
ÂG.B. Dixit Ala Singer
ÂGirish Solanki Tarika's Partner
ÂGovind Namdeo SriRam
ÂGuddi Munni
ÂGyan Shivpuri Phool Singh
ÂHarish Tarika
ÂHemant Mishra Policeman
ÂHemant Pandey Ashokchand's Friend
ÂJeetendra Shastri Bharat
ÂKamia Bhatt Rukhmani, age 11
ÂK.D. Segan A.D.C
ÂKhunni Lal Maina Pundit
ÂLakshmi Narayan Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂMahesh Chandra Chief Minister
ÂMalabai Sonwani Mother-in-law
ÂMandakini Goswami Kailash's Wife
ÂManoj Bajpai Man Singh
ÂNazim Hussain Vikram Gang Member
ÂNazim Patel Vikram Gang Member
ÂNirmal Pandey Vikram Mallah
ÂPallavi Bharti Little Girl
ÂParitosh Sand Devendra Singh
ÂPawan Gupta Vikram Gang Member
ÂPradeep Gupta Vikram Gang Member
ÂPuran Bhatt Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂRaghuvir Yadav Madho
ÂRajesh Vivek Mustaquim
ÂRaj Kumar Kamie Thakur Gang
ÂRakesh Raekwar Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂRam Charan Nirmalker Devideen
ÂRanjit Chowdhry Shiv Narain (as Ranjit Chaudhry
ÂRavi Sangde Messenger
ÂSanjeev Kumar Poolan/Man Singh Gang
ÂSaurabh Shukla Kailash
ÂSavitri Raekwar Moola
ÂSitaram Panchal Lalaram
ÂSunil Gaekwad Rattan Chand
ÂSunita Bhatt Little Phoolan
ÂSurendra Kora Behmai Man
ÂUma Yaish Rukhmani
ÂVibanshu Vaibhav Vikram Gang Member
ÂVijay Shukla Ashokchand's Friend
ÂVinod Tiwari Vikram Gang Member
ÂYogesh Gupta Poolan/Man Singh Gang
 

Plot

The movie tells the story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994. During five years she was prosecuted by the Indian police and turned into a legend (like a modern Robin Hood) by the Indian press. Although the press tended to make her the optimal hero with blue eyes, dark hair, being tall and beautiful she was in reality an average Indian which makes it hard for the movie to fulfill the expectations of the audience and tell the truth at the same time. Nowadays Phoolan Devi wants to enter the field of politics.
 

Comments

Great subject, average as a movie I am surprised to find the IMDB details mentioning a certain Mike Higgins as the main director of the film, with Shekhar Kapur as the second director. The video I just watched (made in UK) does not mention any "Mike Higgins" as a director in the credits. I trust this is a mistake and not reflecting something deeper... The film's subject is poignant and very real. It happened. One can debate some artistic liberties taken by director and scriptwriter. The subject is what makes the film tick--nothing else. I saw the film for the first time after the real Phoolan, was gunned down in New Delhi and had served several years as an elected Member of Parliament in India. By the way, she was not the first untouchable elected to Parliament, as some reviewers stated. The so-called "untouchables" have been elected to the Indian Parliament for decades in reserved constituencies. While Shekhar Kapur as a director is a hero to many India, because he made commercially accepted international films---"Bandit Queen" and "Elizabeth" (and a tolerable kiddie movie called "Mister India", which was accepted by the average Indian audiences)---and even got Oscar nominations for Elizabeth, I do not place him as a top notch film director from India. He fails in every department as a director except perhaps that he succeeds in getting some above-average performances from his actors. Subtlety, finesse, charm are not easy to find in his films--melodrama brims in them. His idea of using Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's vocal rendering of the song in the early parts of the film, was perhaps his single major achievement on the undistinguished sound track of "Bandit Queen". And then perhaps the creaking doors during the gang rape sequence. Otherwise the film looked like a spaghetti western with sex and violence minus the great music one associates with them. If you are looking for a good living Indian film director who makes realistic cinema of international quality--it is not Shekhar Kapur's movies you should see, it is the later works of three Indian film-makers Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mrinal Sen, and Girish Karnad and of course Muzaffar Ali's "Umrao Jaan". It is unfortunate that none of those directors had the financial support that Kapur had to give them and their films an international viewership. For instance, Sen's "Oka oorie katha" made in Telugu, or Satyajit Ray's "Sadgati" based on Munshi Prem Chand's "Kafan" are more complete as films to an intelligent viewer dealing on the state of the untouchables in India. Sen did not have to resort to graphic sex and violence but merely suggested them. Of course, Sen's nugget did not make headlines, while Kapur's effort hogged them. To Kapur's credit, he is articulate and used his limited talent and modest resources in the Mumbai film industry to take his products beyond home audiences. For that effort, I salute Kapur. But "Bandit Queen" will remain a great subject awaiting an accomplished director to deal with it.
 
poster for "Bandit Queen"
539 x 722
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
poster for "Bandit Queen"
359 x 540
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
poster for "Bandit Queen"
142 x 250
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
poster for "Bandit Queen"
335 x 475
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
poster for "Bandit Queen"
351 x 513
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
poster for "Bandit Queen"
292 x 369
Bandit Queen (1994) - Shekhar Kapur
{caption}