The Bandit Queens: Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023

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I think if you enjoyed Jane Doe or Killers of a Certain Age or Now You See Us, this will float your boat: it's pure revenge fantasy at points.

At the time of her death, she was still fighting against the reinstituted criminal charges, having lost a 1996 appeal to the Supreme Court to have the charges dropped. Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language biographical action-adventure film [3] based on the life of Phoolan Devi as covered in the book India's Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi by the Indian author Mala Sen. Around this time, Phoolan revisits her former husband Puttilal, and with Vikram's help, abducts him and exacts her justice for his rape and abuse, beating him up. With her older sister Rukhmini, she sat in the disputed land and ate the chickpeas growing there, saying the crop belonged to her family. A lot of authors have a ton of potential with their first book but only fully deliver on it in subsequent publications, but Shroff does a great job right off the bat.

This is a story that contains discussions of serious issues of class and misogyny, but with the bold voice of a protagonist who can still fight for the little joys in life. Although Gujjar's lieutenant Vikram is sympathetic towards Phoolan, Gujjar indiscriminately brutalizes and humiliates her, until one day Vikram catches him raping her and shoots him in the head. This funny, feel-good read is a rollicking ride rife with memorable characters involved in ill-fated hijinks. As someone who watched 1000+ episodes, it’s a treat to see it inspire women ( let’s ignore that the inspiration is not something the makers intended). The film's music was composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with Khan also voicing the non-instrumental pieces in the soundtrack which include tracks based on traditional Rajasthani music.

Although Phoolan Devi is a heroine in the film, she fiercely disputed its accuracy and fought to get it banned in India. Women saving themselves from being beaten, maimed and killed are nothing while the purveyors of dick lit are taken very seriously for writing about perceived emasculation, alcoholism, and affairs with students.

Yes, in the beginning, I was not a fan of the author dumping several female characters at the same time. The top police officials now begin a massive manhunt for Phoolan, and Thakur Shri Ram relishes the opportunity to come to their aid. Devi became a female rights activist and was elected a member of India's Parliament from 1996 to 1999—the first low-caste woman to hold that distinction. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

In 2022, Farrukh Dhondy announced that he was making a web series about her life told from the perspective of Rajendra Chaturvedi, the person who arranged her surrender. The following year, the court approved a request from Uttar Pradesh to arraign Devi on charges related to the Behmai massacre. Over the following year, the gang robbed trains and vehicles, and looted higher caste villages, sometimes disguising themselves using stolen police uniforms. Therefore, creating a life of isolation and newfound freedom from her abusive husband which Geeta surprisingly enjoys since she can now be independent and self-sufficient without fear and her husband’s judgment. I think ultimately the thing that didn’t work for me was that I either wanted this book to go fully into the ridiculous humorous side of the story like a DIAL A FOR AUNTIES or fully go towards the serious side of what the story tried to discuss as far as the caste system in India, and how differently genders are looked at/treated differently in India etc.In this novel, women are frustrated over their constant demoralization by the patriarchal system but seem powerless to do much about it. After being married off at the age of eleven and being sexually abused by various people, she joined a gang of dacoits. In what ways does the past seem to control, or at least influence, the present in The Bandit Queens? Sen also observes that from the mid-1970s onwards, Indian feminist groups were recording many instances of women being attacked and murdered by men. Filled with clever criminals, second chances, and wry and witty women, Parini Shroff's The Bandit Queens is a razor-sharp debut of humor and heart that readers won't soon forget.

Parini Shroff's debut novel is a rollicking mash-up of adventure story, thriller, dark revenge, and comedy. It's good to see some improvement in their relations toward the end, but be warned, there is a very rocky road to go over first. And somehow, amazingly, it also gives us a fuller and broader picture of the social problems women face in a patriarchal, caste-driven society.The camera by Ahok Mehta has moved with ease in the jungle and actors Saurav Shukla, Rajesh Vivek have done their best. Phoolan Devi's first husband Puttilal also made a demand for her properties since they had never officially divorced. When Farah, one of the women in her microloan group, seeks Geeta's help in making her own abusive husband 'disappear', she is reluctant to get involved but equally reluctant to give up her ambiguous reputation.