Much more than a docudrama, Kapur's uncompromising film spares the viewer very little. Yet it is the opposite of exploitative.

The director possesses the rare instinct for knowing just when to pull the camera away from scenes of abuse, providing them with considerable power without ever being exploitative.

Bandit Queen may not be a strictly accurate rendering of Devi's life, but it treats its story responsibly to give a disturbing and exciting portrayal of an extraordinary woman.

Bandit Queen is, firstly, a lucid narrative about injustice, as exciting as a Peckinpah western and as sharply observant of rural folkways as a film of Satyajit Ray.