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Sweet revenge
Seema
Parihar is yet another woman dacoit from the Chambal ravines
to lay her arms and turn mainstream. With a tale of exploitation
and revenge uncannily like dacoit queen Phoolan Devi’s,
Seema is ready to share the story of her eventful life in
the upcoming film ‘Wounded’. TWF correspondent Avijit
Chatterjee reports
Every Holi, Seema Parihar cringes at the thought of playing
with colours. It was this day some 22 years back when she
was suddenly wrenched away from her close-knit family and
thrown into a world of greedy, lustful men. An event that
irrevocably changed the course of her life forever. "I
still have nightmares recalling that day," says the bandit-turned-actress,
soon to be seen in Krishna Mishra’s Wounded.
Despite her uncanny resemblance to Phoolan Devi, Seema, however,
had never met the original Bandit Queen, though she says she
had heard about the movie made on her life.
"Usme Phoolan Deviko nanga dikhaya’’ (Phoolan
Devi was shown nude in the film), she complains, and says
this also made her resolve to play her part in the film. "You
can make a film on me if it’s a true portrayal of my
life," she had told Wounded director Krishna Mishra when
he approached her in the jail.
Seema took more than two years to give permission to shoot
the film. But the shooting could not start as the court did
not give her permission to come out of the jail on bail. Finally,
Mishra appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court allowed Seema
to step out of the jail on May 7 on condition that she presents
herself before the sub divisional judicial magistrate wherever
she goes. Her director calls her a natural before the camera.
"I only explained to her some technical aspects like
camera placement and the lights and she was quick to grasp
it," he says adding , "It’s the first time
that a real-life character has made it to the reel life. The
story revolves around Seema's trials, deprivations and her
angst against a society dominated by men.” Made both
in English and Hindi at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore, Wounded is
slated for release in October.
"Not many people would be able to suffer the brutality
that I faced," Seema adds, her eyes moist. "I, along
with my friends were playing just outside our house when I
saw a burly, mustachioed man come bounding towards me. Before
I could run into the house, he caught hold of me and started
dragging me into the jungle. I cried for help, but no one
came to my rescue," she recalls. She was just 13 then.
Born in Babian village in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh,
Seema was a pawn in the running feud between her father and
the local Gujjars over a plot of land. "The Gujjars insisted
that my father give his four daughters in marriage to them.
But he declined, saying no one from their community ever married
the Gujjars. Gradually, suitable matches were found for three
of my sisters and I was the only one left unmarried."
Angry at being rebuffed, the Gujjars employed Lala Ram, a
dacoit, to abduct her. "I was thrown into a dingy hut
and raped repeatedly over the next few days.” Lala Ram
then forced her to marry one Fakkad Baba, another dacoit,
who was old enough to be her father.
Thus started a sequence of events that led to her finally
taking the reigns of a gang and let loose a rein of terror
in the region. Her writ ran from Etawah, Agra, and Kanpur
to Bhind and Morena in Uttar Pradesh. After the death of Lala
Ram and Fakkad Baba in encounters, Nirbhay Gujjar, another
dacoit, took her under his wings and taught her to use the
.303 revolver and the AK rifles. When Nirbhay, who fathered
her a son, was killed, Seema took charge of the gang. Till
her surrender before the Kanpur police in 2003, Seema had
reportedly killed 70 persons, looted 30 houses and abducted
200. She was facing charges in 29 cases, of which she had
been acquitted in 15. She is now out on bail in 14 other cases.
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But Seema has little regret for turning the gun on the men
who wronged her. "Why should I regret? They deserved
what they got," says the grim faced 35-year-old, who
spent almost 18 years in the ravines of the Chambal. "Women
don’t take up arms on their own unless they are forced
by circumstances. But once they are wounded by society, they
retaliate like a tigress," she reasons. Like her, she
reveals, there are 20 to 25 women dacoits operating from the
Chambal ravines. "Most of them were either abducted or
lured into the jungle by their boyfriends," she explains.
Some like Surekha Dhobi, who was abducted when she was 16,
have enlisted in the Pehlwan's gang and even refused to return
to her parents.
Among the older breed of dacoits is Kusuma Nain, who calls
herself 'Dyasu Sundari' (dacoit beauty queen) . She faces
charges in 35 cases of murder, robbery and dacoity and carries
a reward of Rs 25,000 on her head. Others like Munni Devi,
Krishna Devi, Lovely Pandey, Prabha Katiyar and Basanti Pandey
are known criminals in the area with several murder charges
against them.
"One day, I may form an organisation to rehabilitate
them," Seems says.
Seema loves watching action films of Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgan
and Sunil Shetty. "Oh, action thrillers are any day better
than tear-jerker films and the family melodramas," she
gushes.
Like Phoolan Devi, Seema nurses a hope of joining politics.
In 2002, she was given a ticket to fight the polls by Shiv
Sena chief Bal Thackeray. However, she declined to fight at
the last moment. "Even Mulayam Singhji was eager that
I join his party," she claims. But her most cherished
moment is meeting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"He is such a big statesman. I told him of my plans to
join politics. He just listened to me and smiled."
Like any other mother, Seema also dreams of a bright future
for her five-year-old son Sagar. "I laid down my arms
for my son. I didn't want my son to grow up in a hostile environment
and turn into an outlaw like me," she says.
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