User Reviews

A rather unique film based on the life of Seema Parihar, the telling of which does seem to be straightforward and unembellished where several of the characters including Seema Parihar herself are played by themselves. According to the notes the film was initially censored in India because of its account of corruption by government authorities. Also the director states in his interview that his choice of filming in Chambal Valley where the events took place resulted in constant threats on his life during the filming and that it took considerable effort in the courts to get Seema Parihar paroled under strict police supervision to act in the film. She was in prison fighting charges and for all I know is still there. She has said that she wanted to play herself in the film to prevent certain liberties in the content which the director otherwise might take. A much better known film with a similar message is "Bandit Queen" (as of this writing 1832 votes on IMDb vs only 5 for "Wounded"), a film which was disliked by bandit queen Phoolan Devi due to liberties taken by the director. I note that the storyline on IMDb for "Bandit Queen" (1994) states "it is hard for the movie to fulfill the expectations of the audience and tell the truth at the same time". Seema Parihar in her interview on the DVD says that she did not choose to be a bandit and that she was a victim of a corrupt society. I realize that many people will take exception to this disavowal of responsibility (accused of 12 murders and countless robberies), but if I lived under such a corrupt system and abused and brutalized at age 13 where my only support in life were bandits and knowing what happened to Phoolan Devi by the authorities you would be best advised not to travel in my region with a big bag of money and if you were to resist, well, I hesitate to comment on what might happen to you. This film deserves much more attention.