Shekhar Kapur on Manoj Bajpayee’s Bandit Queen character: ‘One night the real Maan Singh slipped into our set’

Released in 1994, Bandit Queen is counted among Indian cinema’s most well-made and critically acclaimed biopics. The narrative is inspired by the life of Phoolan Devi, as covered in Mala Sen’s book India's Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi. Bandit Queen was helmed by noted director Shekhar Kapur, and it featured an array of talented actors including Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Gajraj Rao, Saurabh Shukla and Raghuvir Yadav. But did you know the film also marked Manoj Bajpayee’s debut in Bollywood? He played the role of daaku Maan Singh in the movie, which premiered in the ‘Directors’ Fortnight’ section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and went on to win several awards later.

Reminiscing about the making of Bandit Queen, Shekhar recently took to social media to say that he misses those days when making movies was a true life adventure. 

Also read: From Bandit Queen to The Family Man 2, Manoj Bajpayee and Seema Biswas ace the 25-year challenge

The filmmaker shared a movie still of Manoj in the avatar of the daaku on Instagram and wrote: “Manoj Bajpayee as Maan Singh in Bandit Queen. While we were filming Bandit Queen in the Dholpur district of Rajasthan.. we were advised to take special protections as there were still Dacoit gangs and groups active in the area. Manoj was playing Maan Singh, who was still at large. Still active, and we heard he was operating in the area we were filming in. One night the real Maan Sing slipped into our sets at night and wanted to meet the man playing him. Apparently the real Maan Singh and Manoj got drunk together and what actually passed between them .. only Manoj can tell you. But what an adventure, what an experience for an actor, playing a real live dacoit being hunted by the police .. being confronted by the Dacoit himself!! The adventures of filmmaking. When making movies was a true life adventure. I miss those days. I miss the excitement of uncertainty. And by the way, Bandit Queen was Manoj Bajpayee’s first film, and how he has become one of the best actors we have on screen today. @bajpayee.manoj #banditqueen #film #filmmaking #adventure #adventureoffilmmaking #movies #acting #manojbajpayee”. 

Commenting on the picture, the The Family Man actor wrote: “Memories ❤️ Nostalgia ❤️ can never forget all the lessons that I took with me about cinema acting from THE Shekhar Kapur himself!”

Also read: Gulmohar actor Manoj Bajpayee: One must understand the spiritual side of a character

Cut to the acclaimed filmmaker’s new movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It? - starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Aly, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, Alice Orr-Ewing and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - the cross-cultural rom-com has scored nine nominations at the National Film Awards. Meanwhile, Manoj’s latest outing, ZEE5 original film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai has been receiving positive reviews from critics and the audience alike.

Also read: What's Love Got To Do With It review: Shekhar Kapur's film barely justifies the title