 The day of the filming is May 4th. So you all know what that means. It means, may the 4th be with you. Would you like to hold my lightsaber? Never. That's what she said. Hey, welcome back to CuriousTuberDragsons of Corvette. I'm Darth Vader. It's got some weight on it. You wanna feel that? No. You really don't? I don't wanna feel the weight on your lightsaber. Oh, too bad. May the 4th be with all of you. May the 4th be with you. And thank you ever so much for some patron. Phone's true to count. Subscribe to me on the like button. If you wanna see more about that lightsaber, I posted a real May the 4th on when Ashley, Alexis, Micah, and Harrell surprised me when we went to Star Wars land. They took me for the first time and they paid for me to go in and have the full Monty of lightsaber creation experience, which was pretty dang. I felt nine years old. I got emotional. I'm not gonna lie. Because they do a really good job. You're playing music in there and you feel like you're in. It's just, it's pretty dang awesome. Anyway. Today we're doing a movie review. And it's just like Star Wars. Exactly. It's so similar that I was gobsmacked. Anyways, today we are doing a movie review of the 19, I believe, 94? Yes. 94? 95. 1994, at least on IMDb. Yeah. Hindi film Bandit Queen. Yes. Directed by. Not to be confused with Dancing Queen by Abba. Similar films, though. Very, very comparable. As is the score. Directed by. Reminded me of Abba. Say that name. Directed by Shikhar Kapoor. And writers were. Ranjit Kapoor from the book India's Bandit Queen, Malasen. And it was starring Seema Biswas. We've seen her a few times. We have. Nothing this early. No, this was definitely her earliest. And apparently this was her breakthrough. Yeah. And then obviously there's a couple other people as well, but we'll get into all of this. Rajesh. I love him. But we'll get into all of that. And of course, yes, our Dosty of Dosts. But it'll be 100% as well as a review. Obviously, it came out in 1994. So if you haven't watched it, please go watch it and come back. It's the true storytelling of the Bandit Queen. Say. Yeah, her name was Pulandevi. Pulandevi, who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1983. That's a very general synopsis. Very general synopsis. This is a, if you've seen it, you know, it's one of those hard watches. And that's what I've always been told about this film. Yes. Is that it's a hard watch, but a good watch. But what did you think of this film, Rick? Boy, do I have mixed feelings. Because, and we'll get into it. As a film, as a piece of art, when you look at the technical aspects of it, when you look at the acting, I loved it. There is so much to applaud, even with some of the failures. I'm always way more forgiving. Yeah, I'm way more forgiving of a film that's attempting elevated artistry that has mistakes, whether it's continuity or budgetary stuff. That's forgivable when someone is doing their utmost to create elevated artistry, which this film is not only an attempt to do that, but I think it is elevated artistry. The problem I have is what I know the titular character, our main subject, what she felt about the film. It's very hard for me to give this a full stamp of approval knowing the woman it's about. She's so passionately disliked it and didn't want it released that she threatened to set herself on fire at a showing if they did it. Why, what reason? She said it completely misrepresented her life in legacy. Interesting. Yeah, so in that regard, I can't, I can't, it reminded me of, in some respects, very differently the way I felt about Omerta, which I just kicked myself because I had wanted to ask that question to Rajkumar and had forgotten to. I wanted to know what he felt about the depiction of Daniel Perl's life in that film because that was my takeaway problem. I felt the film itself was really, really great and the performances were great but I had a problem with history not being told correctly in the life of Daniel Perl. So that's my only problem with this is the fact that the woman it's about did not want this film released. That's true. But the only way we can judge this film is by off of what we saw. Obviously, she can say her piece, it's her life. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what elements of it she's talking about either. So that's not something I can really, I understand and that's something, if you guys know any more in depth about why she felt this way about this film because I obviously, in terms of just the film, I love the film. I thought the film was a really. Nothing but good to say, right? Yeah, yeah. So like I said, I'm only gonna. So unless we're gonna set that aside. Only gonna judge this film off of what I saw and if you guys know anything about what she's talking about, please educate us down below because I would love to know more of why she felt that way. Maybe they did certain things that did not happen at all. Obviously, I would love to know that, obviously. I don't know any of it. This is like the first, this is not the first time we've seen her in a film. I think we saw it basically in both bandit things. I felt like she was in the, I felt like there was like. Poopaswas? Yeah, that her character, that shpooja. Oh yeah, the character, the bandit queen. I felt like there was like a depiction of her in the Sushant one. There was. And then in the Irfan one. The Irfan one, I believe. I believe you are correct. I know for sure it was the Sushant one. So we've seen her type of character. But they did not go in depth of, oh man, her tragic, tragic, tragic life. This is, let's start just start with her. She did a supervalidive job. The actress, just, Sima. Sima Biswas. And there's so many elements of her performance that you can talk about. It was just, like the first 30 minutes was just like, oh man. Yeah. Oh shit. Yeah. And it continued, but there was a little gaps in like of happiness. And then just right back smack in your face of fucking brutal. This movie would be controversial and talked about and hashtag boycott by today's standards. 1994, man. Yeah. India? Yeah. What they were making in 1984 in India? This was beyond even the independent industry that was trying to blossom at the time too. This was just, and to India's credit, it was the film they submitted to the Oscars to try to get in for foreign film. But they submitted it. They submitted it as their film that year at the, I believe it was the 65th. Oscars? It definitely deserved to be sent for sure. Yeah, it deserved to be sent. I don't know what else was obviously taken, but they definitely deserved it. So I'm glad they did that. But yeah, her performance was so raw and so real. And courageous. And courageous. I mean, that was the one scene where they literally, in an Indian film, stripped her naked. Yeah. And she in front of, it felt like hundreds of people. It was the walk of shame from games, but the actress did the nudity. And once again though, in India. In an Indian film, in front of Indians, in 1994. Yeah. Like, I'm surprised it was even a lot. I'm guessing obviously this thing had a micro budget, right? And it probably wasn't released. It's extraordinary because I did read that it obviously, the censor board was trying to stop it. But how that went from the censor board trying to stop it and her ultimately, and it's interesting because you also have to add, I read the story about the actual woman, Pulandevi, she was paid and then didn't protest it anymore. They paid her, I believe, 40,000 pounds for the use of her in the film. And then she stopped talking about the film as being negative. But it really is mind boggling and extraordinary that this is the film that not only got a release, but that this is the film India selected to be submitted. Which is great because it's wonderful. It absolutely deserved it. She did such an amazing job. Amazing job. Full commitment to this role. Yeah. Full commitment to this role. And also the younger versions of her as well. Oh my God. Yes, the kids. So difficult to watch. So incredibly difficult. And it was done tastefully, which was good. Thanks. It was done very tastefully. Because that's hard, especially to depict a child rape, multiple, multiple times. Rape in and of itself is hard, let alone child file rape. You can't allow a kid to really go through that in a film that you can't do that. And so they did it very tastefully but also depicting what was happening, right? Yeah, and the little girl did an amazing job particularly in that scene when he's saying, you're my wife now, I get to do this to you. But that scene where, there's a couple of scenes I want to talk about. Obviously the one where she went out naked. Yeah, which is just completely raw, completely real. And not gratuitous at all. It is my understanding that that did happen to her, that there are, this doesn't go apparently because I read her story breakdown, not a full book or anything, but from what I read, it doesn't go completely far afield at all from some of the events that actually took place. It's very accurate in a lot of the events that took place and the Walking to the Well was one of those things. So, yeah. But yeah, a couple other scenes I want to talk about with her was when she had sex with what's this face for the first time? The guy she fell in love with? The guy she fell in love with. Yeah. And the wanting of it, but also the PTSD, whatever you want to call it, you would like the struggle of don't touch me, you disgusting man. Touch me, but don't touch me. It was very well done in terms of directing, writing and the actors and their portrayal of this struggle she's going through, of she's been raped probably hundreds of times, it feels like. But she's like, I really love this man and I want to share this. But no, don't fucking touch me, you fucking piece of trash. Right. Because that's what she's going up for is men to be. Yes, of course. I don't know anything else of, ooh, don't touch me, you disgusting. Of course. It was beautifully done. I agree. That entire scene. I agree, it was, as was pretty much every other thing. I thought one of the more well filmed that could have been extremely difficult and gratuitous was the gang rape. By just showing the door constantly opening and closing. It's very difficult because you have to, those things happen and they're important things to not forget yet at the same time, you have to be careful when you're filming because you can cross that line of almost, not just almost of being gratuitous and vulgar and a provocateur. And I did not think at any point it was that. And this just keeps hitting you over and over and over again. But I believe her life was that, as was the lives of many women and still are in particular places that are low cast. And it reminded me, interestingly, this may not seem like a connection point, but here's the connection point. And Ronnie had never seen Kill Bill Vol. 2. Oh. So we watched it last night. Nice. And there's the scene where Uma Thurman's gonna go up to Pi May. And David Carradine says, don't be a sassy, don't talk. He doesn't like Americans. He doesn't like Caucasians. And he doesn't like women. She's all of those things. And same thing. The very beginning, this quote at the beginning of the film, which is a quote apparently from Manus Mithra, a book of Hindu religious scriptures. It's quoting the saying animals, drums, illiterates, low castes and women are worthy of being beaten. That's the start of the film to let you know what you're getting in for. That for me is obviously the biggest takeaway from this. It's not just her story. But it's a story of a reality that permeates not just then, but has always permeated and still permeates, which is the disgusting, horrific, evil treatment of people based on race, caste, religion, gender, skin color, all of the above. This is just a brutal telling about that. And then obviously the fact that the whole thing of her father selling her into a child marriage and then also like all this stuff happens. Like she's like, he wanted to bed me. Like she said that. And then her mom says, do you have no shame? Like, what? What? It's just, it's kind of, it's absolutely, it just kept hitting you. It's like such a tragic, tragic story. But Vikram I thought also did very, very well. I liked his character a lot. I did too. I think everybody in this film did very, very well. I did too for so many people to be in this. I think it was one of Manoj's first things he ever did. He was baby Manoj. When he first came on, I went, that's you. I know that's you. And I, he too, if we had seen this, I would have asked him a question or two. Maybe we'll get the chance to talk to the Dostee again. But I very much would like to know how he, and as a particularly her, not just how they felt about the actual woman's feelings about it and if they were justified, but in particular, I would love to know what the process was like for Sema to portray a character that has gone through such brutality and what she did in actual research versus things she just left to her own imagination, irrespective of what her process was. I believed every moment she was on screen, she was this woman and was going through what she was going through. Believed every minute of it. Absolutely. You felt for her when she went back to the village and she saw this child marriage about to happen. She was always looking for those people. And then basically, it happened a few times in the film where her aggression and trauma just came out on these men. Can you blame her? No, absolutely not. And you go, oh yeah, kill those people, please. They're all, there's watching people get raped, watching people get child marriage. Like they're not good people. In the mockery of the public trial, which still goes on today where the woman is the one who was attacked, but then when she's brought up in front of all of the elders, they're asking her the question and all the other guys are saying, yeah, she was itching for it. She wanted it, look at the way she was dressed and all that other bullshit that's said in defense of disgusting rapists. Yeah, it's a, it lived up to the difficult watch for sure, because it's even though like I enjoyed watching like there's this great artistry happening in front of me, which is wonderful to watch, but then also the subject matter is incredibly difficult to watch. Yeah, he likes to watch rapes in two hours. And I remember, I've mentioned this before. Whenever there's a true story or a story that's depicting true things that's hard to watch. I remember when I was watching prisoners with Hugh Jackman and Paul Dano. It was just rough, man. There's the point where he's having to look through the photos to try to recognize and their photos of all of these different children's clothes from different children that have been inducted and raped and killed. I wanted to leave the theater. It was so uncomfortable. And the thought went through my mind, stay put. He didn't have the option to walk away from this. People who go through these things, they didn't have the option to turn it off and walk away. And I think it's important in understanding empathy and being in the human condition to see stories like this and not turn your eye away from it because the minute we forget, we're very prone to allowing or condoning or doing the very same things. That for me is the biggest takeaway from this is that if you can set aside, which I have to, because it's so good and it's so important, I can't give it the full stamp of approval because I really want to know what it was. She, I mean, the quote I read was she said it misrepresents her life and her legacy. But how much? To what degree? At the very least. Some people also just don't like their dirty laundry. That's another option. And at the very least, I feel, I don't think someone with a conscience would watch this and just walk away from it. I think someone who would watch this would want to know more, which is the point of great storytelling of this caliber, don't you think? Yeah, I agree. Do we have you see Rajesh when he showed up? Oh man, I was so happy. I just, he's such a unique person. He's a unique look. Unique look. He's always such a solid actor. His presence is so, so the minute I see, he just endeared himself to me in Lagann forever. So I'm always excited when he pops up. Yeah, he was wonderful. As was Manoj. Manoj was very, for a young actor, you can see the understated, yeah, the understated depth of his capacity to just be in the moment and be real. His character was very silent. Yeah. He didn't say a lot. Didn't have to. But obviously he conveyed a lot as well. My probably gripes with the film is probably, even though I'm glad it was a little under two hours, it also could have used a little more as well. A little more in depth of certain. I would have. It bounced through years pretty fast. Yeah. And even though I'm appreciative, because you don't wanna live in this story for a long time, this style of story. So I get it. It's hard. It's hard. But then also sometimes I'm like, I would have liked to know a little more about that time. And also sometimes it would bounce and I'm like, oh, we're a couple years. Yeah. And in addition to that, I would love to see someone tell the story a new, a fresh, because, well, because this movie came out in 94, she lived until 2001. So the remaining years of her life and her death, you absolutely should tell this from birth to death. This is an important life. I think they should have, A24 should try to like get the story, get Hindi actors or people that actually speak the language in India, right? Produce it here so you don't have to deal with the censor board. I agree. That's what I think. I agree. I mean, sometimes you just have to tell the story correctly. No, to tell it correctly today, that's why it's astonishing what happened back then that allowed this movie to see the light of day. Yeah, it's insane. I mean, genuinely, I'm astonished because even by today's standards, this would go on to OTT and people would still be losing their minds over the content being unacceptable in their opinion. And yeah. Yeah, I don't know how it got made in 1994. It's still kind of crazy to think in my mind. It was like, okay, 1994 India. Yeah, 1994 India. So we made in 1993 probably, or I don't know how long the film took to actually make. It probably took a while to be in the desert. But also they had a micro budget. I'm sure they did. And it's why I'm sure they had to film things quickly because of that. That's why there's quite a few continuity things, especially with blood, but that is so forgivable. You just, you can feel the intention behind this as being a film that's focused on telling a story, whether or not it's gonna do well in the box office is not on the agenda here as it shouldn't be with what I coined as elevated artistry. And this is absolutely one of the more elevated films. And her performance for me is one of the most stand out. She was the first role that comes to mind that for me was where a woman just held the film and was abused, but had such dignity. And I was believing every single moment was Briani. That character. I mean, she'll definitely be remembered at the Dummies this year for sure. 100%. It's hard to not remember that. Hard to not remember that role. That performance. And the film as well. The film is absolutely incredible. I've heard about it for a long time and I've wanted to get to it for a long time. Yeah. And I'm glad we finally got to it. But yeah, the, I don't know what I was gonna say. I was gonna say something. It must have excited her when she read the script and knew she was gonna be able to- Seema? Yeah. It had to. And the ultimate takeaway is not just about what this woman's life represents. And I think one of the things it didn't really depict was how she was heralded as really being a Robin Hood. And how much she robbed the rich to give to the poor. Yeah. I would have liked to know, like you heard it and you said, oh, she's beloved and she's like- Yeah. But you didn't see that. You saw her care for women and children especially, but you didn't see the people adore her. Right. Outside of the end of it. Right, which is a really good thing. And did you ever watch the first couple of seasons of what is it, Pedro Pascal's series? I'm forgetting the name. And DeLorean. No. The one about- Narcos? Yes, with Pablo- Last of us. His, no. The big mafia guy who was and still is beloved by the people there because of what he did for the city and the communities and all of the money that he got through cocaine and prostitution, he took care of people. I would have loved to have seen that side of her more than just the vengeance side, which was completely justifiable and unsure part of her life. But the other thing that this talks about that we just kind of didn't gloss over or didn't really get in depth to is the reality of the then and now of the poisonous evil that is treating human beings differently based on anything relating to appearance, social status, religious belief, skin color, gender. It is heartbreaking to know we live in a world with people who still have that level of not just low intelligence, but evil capacity to treat people differently because of those foundations of bigotry and lies. It's painful. I wonder how this film did when it came out in terms of obviously I'm sure it wasn't a wide release. I read the numbers but I don't know what they mean. Yeah, yeah. I'm sure it wasn't like an amazing. It came out I think a year before DDLJ came out. But so like the styles of DDLJ it was very of the time in terms of like the style and I'm taking nothing away from DDLJ. Obviously that's an entertainer and that's wonderful in what it does. But the fact that this elevated, insanely like raw film was made a year before. It genuinely is flabbergasting. There's nothing like this that I know of in Indian cinema within decades of either side of this film. There's nothing quite like it. Yeah, there's a film called, I don't know if it's that similar. I think it was also sent to the Oscars and I think it got accepted was, we haven't seen it yet, a Ceylon Bombay. Oh yeah. I think that's good. Is that a heavy one too? I think it's a heavy film. I could be wrong. I think Earphone has a small role in that one. And I have no idea. I read the list of films nominated that year. I don't recall any of them. So I don't know what this went up against. This is parallel cinema, I do believe. Yes. And so maybe in that realm, which we haven't explored that much, there are some films that are more like this. If there are, please obviously let us know what they are. Obviously we love them. This style, this like elevated artistry kind of films like this one. And any other information about this one, please let us know if she gave any more information of why she had such a problem with this film. Please let us know because we would love to know. Yeah, because it's telling a true story and whenever a film is doing that, they should be honoring of the truth. It's important because many people, in fact, a majority of people will have their only exposure to this woman's life through this film and that's gonna be their takeaway. And they will just accept it as gospel truth because many people just do that. Yeah. Anyways, I'm glad we finally got to it. Me too. Please let us know what you thought about this film and what should be the next film of hers. Yes. Or in the parallel cinema universe. Please let us know what the next film should be down below.