Richie Mehta’s ‘Phoolan’ gets standing ovation at TIFF world premiere
Toronto: Richie Mehta’s biographical action-drama Phoolan received a standing ovation at its world premiere at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, 2026.
The film was showcased at the iconic Princess of Wales Theatre as part of TIFF’s prestigious Special Presentation section before a packed audience of over 2,000.
The Amazon Original film stars Sneha Kumari in the titular role as Phoolan Devi, alongside Anurag Thakur, Vikram Pratap Singh, Aakash Dahiya, Prateek Pachouri and Dev Dutt Budholiya in pivotal roles.
Based on I, Phoolan Devi: The Autobiography of India’s Bandit Queen, the film does not cover her entire life. Instead, it focuses on a defining 48-hour siege in which Phoolan defies an armed group of 2,000 men who trap her in a village in an attempt to kill her.
The team at the premiere included Kumari, who led the film’s contingent, writer-director-producer Mehta, and producers Shareen Mantri Kedia, Kanwal Kohli and Kishor Arora of Namah Pictures, and Shilangi Mukherji, Director & Head of SVOD Business, Prime Video India, representing Amazon MGM Studios.
Speaking about the premiere, Mehta said, “Phoolan Devi’s story demands to be told with honesty and without compromise. I was drawn to a very specific chapter of Phoolan’s life, the formative years before the world knew her name, contrasted with the period when she was a misunderstood legend. It felt essential to me to strip away the mythology and reveal the human underneath.”Following its world premiere, the film will premiere on Prime Video in India and in over 240 countries and territories.
