India, Sept. 18 -- A sharply focused film capturing a crisis faced by bandit queen Phoolan Devi as a teenager was received with applause, even a standing ovation, as it had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Following on the success Delhi Crime, the series he helmed, Indo-Canadian director Richie Mehta brought his latest project, the biopic Phoolan, an Indian production, for its first screenings to Toronto.

Unlike Shekhar Kapur's acclaimed Bandit Queen, Mehta's Phoolan offers are more "intimate" look at the scourge of the Chambal, encompassing a 48-hour period during which the teenaged Devi is under siege by law enforcement agencies.

Mehta was raised in Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), b...