Shekhar Kapur criticizes unauthorized edits of Bandit Queen

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur is upset about the edited version of his film "Bandit Queen" on Amazon Prime Video. He claims it has been changed "beyond recognition" without his consent. Kapur argues that his vision as a director has been disrespected. He questions whether similar edits would be made to films by well-known directors like Christopher Nolan. "Bandit Queen," released in 1994, tells the story of Phoolan Devi and stars Seema Biswas. Kapur’s comments started after he praised a Netflix miniseries called "Adolescence" on social media. Other filmmakers like Sudhir Mishra and Kunal Kohli reacted, supporting Kapur's concerns about the editing of his film. Kohli expressed that it is shocking for an OTT platform to alter a film without permission. He noted that Kapur today might have more freedom, but his earlier self faced more restrictions. Hansal Mehta agreed, saying there is a problem with prioritizing simple storytelling over innovative narratives from local creators. "Bandit Queen" won the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995. It was also India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards but did not receive a nomination.