Paper short abstract:

The aim of the paper is to present the figure of Phoolan Devi and some version of her biographies. The most essential elements of Phoolan’s story are present in every narration about her, but every author, including the heroine herself, highlights only some of its components, changing the others.

Paper long abstract:

The aim of the paper is to present the figure of the famous "bandit queen" of India. There are many legends and aspects of Phoolan Devi's life, with changes depending on who narrates the story. For some Phoolan is a heroine of the type of Robin Hood, others see her as a symbol of the fight of the most oppressed groups of people in India. Finally there are those who consider her to be an ordinary murderer.

The presentation of this interesting person with the background of the general phenomenon of banditry in India is not intended to be an answer to the question whether Phoolan Devi was a victim, or indeed an unscrupulous woman. The most interesting fact is that some of her biographies in a very remarkable way glide over some fact, highlighting the others.

The three essential elements of Phoolan's biography (the recurring sexual violence, the reasons for which she found her place among dacoits and the massacre in the Behmai village) are present in every story about her life, but every individual author, including the heroine herself, highlights only some of its components, clearly neglecting the details of others. While such an approach is not surprising in the story told by Phoolan, trying to justify some of her actions, it becomes astonishing especially in the work of Shekhar Kapur, whose film has been much criticized, and rises the question of how much the story of Phoolan Devi is an attempt to show a biography of an extraordinary women and how much it is a simple sensation.