Charged with 48 crimes and imprisoned for 11 years, she inspired movie that won 3 National Awards; launched Manoj Bajpayee and Shekhar Kapur’s global career

The life of Phoolan Devi

Born on August 10, 1963, in Ghura Ka Purwa, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, Phoolan Devi’s life was marked by caste oppression and abuse from a young age. Married off as a child to a man in his twenties, she later returned to her home only to face further humiliation and exploitation by the upper-caste Thakurs of her village. Eventually banished, Phoolan was kidnapped by dacoits and subjected to repeated sexual assault.

But Phoolan refused to remain a victim. With the help of another dacoit, she formed her own gang and plotted her revenge, culminating in the infamous Behmai massacre, where 22 Thakurs — including the men who had allegedly raped her — were killed.

Phoolan surrendered to the police in 1983 and was charged with 48 crimes, including 30 counts of banditry and kidnapping. She spent 11 years behind bars before being released in 1994. Reinventing herself, Phoolan entered politics and joined the Samajwadi Party in 1996, winning the Lok Sabha elections from Mirzapur. She was re-elected in 1999, but her life was tragically cut short when she was assassinated by Sher Singh Rana in Delhi.

Shekhar Kapur almost said no to Bandit Queen

Bandit Queen was based on the book India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi by Mala Sen. In an old interview, director Shekhar Kapur recalled that he nearly turned down the project — unaware of how iconic it would become.

He said, “The way I took up the project was quite coincidental. I was offered this film when I was doing a serial for Channel 4, and they wanted to make a feature film on Phoolan Devi. I was busy doing other projects at that time and the first thing I said was ‘no’. But I took it up because I saw myself doing another film without stars, without any hassle of actors, and they promised to complete the film in 3-4 months.”

Before Bandit Queen, Shekhar had directed acclaimed films like Masoom and Mr India. At the time, he was set to direct Barsaat (1995), Bobby Deol’s debut, but chose to walk away from it for Bandit Queen because he was more willing to wrap up a film in 3-4 months whereas he knew Bobby’s film will take time. “It meant, unfortunately, losing out on the film that I was doing with Bobby Deol,” he had said.

Bandit Queen won 3 National Awards and was India’s official entry for Oscars

After its release, Bandit Queen went on to win multiple awards, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was also screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The film was India’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, though it wasn’t accepted as a nominee.

How Bandit Queen launched Shekhar Kapur international career

While the film didn’t win at the Oscars, it catapulted Shekhar Kapur to global recognition. His next project, the British historical drama Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett, earned him critical acclaim and seven Oscar nominations. Kapur went on to direct Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Four Feathers (Paramount Pictures), and the 2022 romantic comedy What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Careers that Bandit Queen launched

Bandit Queen featured a stellar cast, including Seema Biswas (as Phoolan Devi), Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Saurabh Shukla, Raghuvir Yadav, Nirmal Pandey, and others — most of whom were doing theatre and were looking for a break in the Hindi film industry. It marked the acting debuts of Saurabh Shukla, Manoj Bajpayee, and Gajraj Rao. The credit for this remarkable casting goes to filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who served as both casting director and first assistant director on the film.

Recalling his audition, Gajraj told Screen, “I was happy doing theatre in Delhi. News spread that auditions were going on for Bandit Queen, which was to be shot near Delhi. The casting director of that movie was Tigmanshu Dhulia, and he was the first AD too. He had seen my theatre work and liked it a lot. So, he told me to audition.” Gajraj was later selected for the role of Ashok Chand Thakur.

Saurabh Shukla’s casting happened just as organically. He shared, “One day, Shekhar came to watch Seema’s play, which I used to open. After it got over, he called me backstage. He looked at me silently for a long time and just left. I got confused. Tigmanshu later told me I need to travel to Dholpur tomorrow where the film was to be shot. Later Shekhar revealed to me that when he came to watch that play, he decided then and there that he wanted me for his film.”

Manoj Bajpayee, who played dacoit Maan Singh in the biographical drama, also credits Dhulia and Kapur for launching his film career. He once said, “Tigmanshu Dhulia was the casting director in those days. He was a theatre person coming from the National School of Drama. So he was quite aware of my work on the Delhi stage. I was the first one to be contacted for Bandit Queen.”