Richie Mehta’s film on Phoolan Devi was inspired by ‘a light that shines so bright’

A gang of dacoits is surrounded in a village by hundreds of policemen. Over 48 hours, the brigands try to escape the siege, relying on their knowledge of the terrain to outwit superior numbers and firepower. Richie Mehta’s new film is a pulsating action thriller but something else too: an extract from the life of the outlaw Phoolan Devi.

Titled Phoolan, the movie from the creator-director of the acclaimed web series Delhi Crime and Poacher is based on an incident from Phoolan Devi: The Autobiography of India’s Bandit Queen, co-authored with Marie-Therese Cuny and Paul Rambali. Written in 1996, years after Phoolan Devi surrendered and served a prison term, the book traces the personal history of brutality – child marriage, repeated rape, discrimination resulting from her Other Backward Caste status – that transformed an impoverished teenager into a feared dacoit in the Chambal ravines.

Phoolan will be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 10-20). First-time film actor Sneha Kumari plays the lead role. The cast includes Aakash Dahiya, Prateek Pachori and Dev Dutt Budholiya.

Vikram Pratap Singh plays Phoolan Devi’s lover and protector Vikram Mallah (also known as Mastana). Anurag Thakur portrays an unnamed police constable grappling with the moral implications of the siege on the village.

The Amazon MGM Studios/Namah Pictures...

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