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Shekhar Kapur slams OTT platform for editing Bandit Queen ‘without his permission’; ‘Would they have guts to cut a Chris Nolan film…’
Shekhar Kapur recently called out an OTT platform for altering Bandit Queen without his consent. He questioned whether they would dare to edit a Christopher Nolan film the same way.
Shekhar Kapur recently called out an OTT platform for modifying Bandit Queen without his approval. Expressing his disappointment, he slammed the disregard for a filmmaker’s creative vision and questioned whether a Christopher Nolan film would ever face such unauthorized alterations.
Shekhar Kapur recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration over Bandit Queen being altered on an OTT platform without his consent. He wrote, “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.”
He added, “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?”
The discussion started when Shekhar praised the Netflix miniseries Adolescence on X. In response, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra commented that creating such projects independently might be the only way forward, emphasizing the freedom to explore narratives without restrictions.
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli also weighed in on the controversy, expressing his shock over the OTT platform altering Bandit Queen. Responding to his post, he remarked that while Shekhar’s Hollywood successes might grant him creative freedom today, the Kapur before Bandit Queen would not have been allowed to make the film on his own terms. He called the unauthorized editing of the film ‘shocking, to say the least’.
Hansal Mehta also voiced his frustration, agreeing with Shekhar Kapur’s concerns. He questioned whether the industry aims to nurture exceptional storytelling or simply churn out generic content. Taking a sharp dig, he criticized the bias toward Western filmmakers.
For those unaware, Bandit Queen is a biographical drama based on the life of Phoolan Devi with Seema Biswas delivering a powerful performance in the lead role. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995 and was India’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, though it did not receive a nomination.
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