Shekhar Kapur claims streamer edited ‘Bandit Queen’ beyond recognition, without permission

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur on Tuesday alleged that the streaming version of his 1994 film Bandit Queen is “unrecognisable” from the movie he originally directed and that it was edited without his permission

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur on Tuesday alleged that the streaming version of his 1994 film Bandit Queen is "unrecognisable" from the movie he originally directed and that it was edited without his permission.

The director, also known for films such as Masoom, Mr India, the Cate Blanchett-starrer period drama franchise Elizabeth, and What's Love Got to Do with It?, asked whether OTT platforms would do the same with a film by Hollywood great Christopher Nolan.

Taking to the microblogging site X, the filmmaker wrote,

Critically acclaimed Bandit Queen revolved around the life of Phoolan Devi, the dreaded Chambal dacoit-turned-Member of Parliament. Actor Seema Biswas played the titular role in the film, which generated a massive worldwide buzz following its premiere in Directors' Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

The conversation started from Kapur's X post in which he praised the mini-series Adolescence for its "next level" storytelling.

Fellow director Sudhir Mishra commented on Kapur's post, saying no one would let Indian filmmakers pursue a show like Adolescence.

Adolescence is a British crime drama which centres around a 13-year-old schoolboy Jamie Miller, who is arrested for the murder of a classmate. Each episode is shot in one take.