Archive · 10 Aug 2026
Refusing Victimhood: New Film Phoolan Retells Bandit Queen's Life
A long time ago in India, there was a girl named Phoolan Devi who had a very difficult life.
She was born into a poor family and was treated unfairly because of her caste.
When she grew up, she became a famous outlaw in the Chambal ravines.
People called her the 'Bandit Queen.'
After her friend Vikram Mallah was killed, some bad men captured her and hurt her terribly.
Later, she took revenge in a village called Behmai, where 22 men died.
Many poor people still loved her because she stood up for people like them.
She even became a politician and was elected twice to India's Parliament.
She wanted everyone to remember her as a strong woman, not as a victim.
Now a movie about her life, called 'Phoolan,' will be shown at a big film festival in Toronto.
Richie Mehta's new film 'Phoolan,' based on Phoolan Devi's 1996 autobiography, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 16 September.
On 14 February 1981, Phoolan Devi killed 22 men in the village of Behmai, becoming known as the 'Bandit Queen.'
After Vikram Mallah was murdered in August 1980, Phoolan Devi was gagged, bound and held captive for 48 hours, during which she was repeatedly raped.
Phoolan Devi was elected to India's Parliament from Mirzapur in 1996 and 1999, and was assassinated outside her home in 2001.
Phoolan Devi criticised Shekhar Kapur's 1994 film 'Bandit Queen,' saying it showed her 'always in tears' and omitted her family's land dispute.
- Who
- Phoolan Devi, the Indian dacoit-turned-politician known as the 'Bandit Queen,' whose life story is told in Richie Mehta's film 'Phoolan.'
- What
- A new biographical film focusing on the 48-hour captivity that marked a turning point in her life, from dacoit to Member of Parliament.
- When
- The film premieres on 16 September; Vikram Mallah was killed in August 1980, the Behmai massacre occurred on 14 February 1981, her parliamentary terms were 1996 and 1999, and she was assassinated in 2001.
- Where
- The Chambal ravines, the village of Behmai on the Yamuna river, her home on Ashoka Road in New Delhi, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
- Why
- The film recounts how Phoolan Devi, denied childhood, marriage, safety, dignity and justice, built an identity around refusing to remain a victim.
Phoolan Devi's self-view
'Bandit Queen' film portrayal
How Phoolan Devi should be portrayed
Phoolan Devi's self-view
Phoolan Devi said Shekhar Kapur's 'Bandit Queen' showed her 'always in tears' and as someone who never consciously chose anything, and that it omitted the family land dispute central to her struggles; she wanted the world to see her as a powerful woman.
'Bandit Queen' film portrayal
The 1994 film depicted Phoolan Devi primarily as a victim shown 'being raped, over and over again,' which she tried to get the film banned and publicly criticised in a 1996 interview with The Atlantic.
- Film
- Phoolan
- Director
- Richie Mehta
- Premiere
- Toronto International Film Festival, 16 September
- Based on
- I, Phoolan Devi: The Autobiography of India's Bandit Queen (1996)
- Behmai massacre
- 14 February 1981; 22 men killed
- Years as dacoit
- 1979–1983 in the Chambal ravines
- Political career
- MP from Mirzapur, elected in 1996 and 1999
- Assassination
- 2001, outside her Ashoka Road home; Sher Singh Rana sentenced to life and fined Rs 1 lakh