This was banned by the Indian authorities due to its graphic scenes of sex and violence. It also incurred the wrath of its own subject, Phoolan Devi, who objected to the fact that she hadn't been invited to see the film. Devi claimed it was riddled with inaccuracies.
Saurabh Shukla saw a stranger roaming on the sets and was confused how is he allowed to roam freely.He later saw him meeting director Shekar Kapur.After the pack he saw that same man sitting in his car which was taking him to hotel.To the shock of Saurabh Shukla the stranger was non other then once Wanted Daku (Dacoit) Maan Singh who had given up life of a Dacoit and was helping Shekar Kapur for the film.
Author-activist Arundhati Roy in her film review entitled, "The Great Indian Rape Trick", questioned the right to "restage the rape of a living woman without her permission", and charged Shekhar Kapur with exploiting Phoolan Devi and misrepresenting both her life and its meaning.
Manoj Bajpai wanted to play Nirmal Pandey's role. When Shekhar Kapur came to the theatre to look at some actors for the film, Manoj knew he would sign Nirmal.
Chandan cinema in Mumbai arranged special afternoon shows for women for a week as there was lot of vulgarity in the film and women would not be comfortable watching it with men.