Shekhar Kapur Slams Prime Video For Butchering 'Bandit Queen': Would They Have the Guts to Cut a Nolan Film?
Shekhar Kapur tweeted that he was appalled to see a poorly cut version of his film 'Bandit Queen', which had bagged three National Awards upon its release.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has slammed Prime Video for featuring an "unrecognisable" cut of his 1994 classic Bandit Queen. The filmmaker posted on social media that his film has been butchered "beyond recognition" by the streamer, and wondered if the executives would have the "guts" to do the same with a Christopher Nolan film.
The discussion started when Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003) director Sudhir Mishra reacted to Kapur's post praising the Netflix show Adolescence. When Kapur wrote that he was in awe of the show's storytelling, Mishra responded that nobody in the country would let filmmakers do something similar to the British crime drama that is currently streaming.
Kapur stated that he was appalled to see a poorly-cut version of Bandit Queen—which had bagged three National Awards, including Best Feature Film in Hindi—on Prime Video and questioned if Indian filmmakers were being given second-hand treatment by the streamer.
"I wonder @IAmSudhirMishra if OTT platforms would let me make #BanditQueen the way I made it years ago. The Bandit Queen on #AmazonPrime is unrecognisable from my film. Someone has cut it beyond recognition. And yet it carries my name as Director. And no one asked me! Are we lesser beings than Western Directors? Would they have the guts to cut a Chris Nolan film without his permission?" he questioned.
Bandit Queen was Kapur's third directorial after Masoom (1983) and Mr India (1987). It was based on the life of Indian dacoit Phoolan Devi, played in the film by actor Seema Biswas, who bagged a National Award for her performance. The film was also chosen as India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the 67th Academy Awards.
On the work front, Kapur last directed the 2022 British romantic comedy What's Love Got to Do with It?, starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, and Sajal Ali among others.