Bandit Queen Music Story: Nusrat's Emotional Gaze During Recording

A decades-old story from the making of 'Bandit Queen' has resurfaced, with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur recalling the emotional intensity Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan brought to the film's background score.

Kapur said the recording was marked by sorrow. Nusrat's voice carried visible grief and tears, and the reason behind it was the death of composer R.D. Burman. Nusrat had long admired Burman's work and was heartbroken to hear of his passing.

Writing on Instagram, Kapur described an unusual moment during the session. Nusrat told him, “Shekhar ji, you watch your film, and I will sing while looking into your eyes.” Kapur admitted that he had never received such a request before.

The scene being recorded was from the segment following the Behmai massacre. It depicted a line of cremation pyres and included the sounds of women crying and wailing by the river. As the recording started, Kapur found Nusrat fixed on his eyes, seemingly searching for something in them.

Kapur added that Nusrat understood his personal bond with R.D. Burman, since Burman had composed the music for 'Masoom', Kapur's first film as a director. This common thread created an emotional connection between them. Kapur said he felt completely captivated and as though he had stepped into a different world.

The filmmaker also said Nusrat's music took him to a place where life and death felt almost indistinguishable. He urged viewers to pay special attention to the post-Behmai sequence when they watch 'Bandit Queen' again, noting that the music there would move them in a distinctive way.

'Bandit Queen' hit screens in 1994. Shekhar Kapur directed the film, which was based on the life of Phoolan Devi, the notorious dacoit from Chambal. Seema Biswas played the title role. The film was praised widely in India and abroad and remains one of the most discussed works in Indian cinema.