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I am totally shattered to hear of the death of Phoolan Devi, Member of Parliament.
My acquaintance with Phoolan began when I was looking to make a film on dacoits. I got in touch with Mala Sen, who was working on a book on Phoolan Devi. That book was later to become the basis for my film, titled Bandit Queen.
It was in this connection that I first met Phoolan. During the period of our interaction, we had our tiffs but I had to admire her for her courage. She not only managed to shed her criminal past but actually rehabilitated herself to such an extent that she was elected to Parliament, not once, but twice, and that speaks volumes about her ability to survive.
Based on what little I know of her, I can tell you that she was a straight-shooter, a great fighter and when it came to a question of her survival, she had no hesitation in choosing a difficult path when she needed to.
I vividly remember an interview, which she granted to Doordarshan soon after she was elected to Parliament for the first time. The interviewer asked her what her ambition in political life was, and she said, "I want to be the minister who controls the police force." She was perhaps a bit naive, in not knowing at the time that the home minister is in charge of the police, but her words spoke about how her life in the Chambal ravines had shaped her.
She was then asked whether she would grab it if fate offered her a chance to be prime minister. Phoolan turned to her interviewer and asked, 'If you were given the chance, would you grab it?'
That, for me, was Phoolan Devi -- fearless, courageous.
Bobby Bedi, producer of 'Bandit Queen', spoke to Onkar Singh
SITETOUR: India's Bandit Queen: 5 Sites
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