Biopics On the Rise In Bollywood by Suhel Johar

We love biopics. It's fascinating to see our favourite celebrity playing a real life character, and giving us an insight into the life of those inspiring humans. Making a biopic is like an explanation about a person from a zero to hero.  Be it freedom fighters, politicians, sports stars, businessmen, outlaws, underworld dons or those whose life stories have become a source of inspiration for countless people. Bollywood certainly loves recounting tales of real-life people and in the coming years, we can expect more biopics than the regular cinema. Biopics are certainly becoming a new way of storytelling.

We’ve already had one biopic Raees release this year  while there are a few more lined up to release later in the year. Sachin: A Billion Dreams is the next biopic to hit the screens and will be followed by Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai.

 

Next year too there will be quite a few biopics hitting the screens. These include:

Pad Man

Pad Man is a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantha, a man who created a revolution in the field of affordable menstrual hygiene. Being directed by R.Balki, will feature Akshay Kumar as Pad Man. Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor are the female leads in the film that will also see Amitabh Bachchan appear in a special role. The film is slated to release on January 26, 2018.

Mogul

Akshay Kumar is set to do another biopic, this time on the founder of T-Series, Gulshan Kumar. The film, titled Mogul, will be produced by Gulshan Kumar’s wife Sudesh Kumari and will be a T-Series production, scheduled to release in 2018. The film will be directed by Subhash Kapoor, who recently delivered a success with Akshay with Jolly LLB 2.

Apart from these two there will also be a yet untitled  biopic on the first Indian woman astronaut in space Kalpana Chawla.  The film to be directed by debutante Priya Mishra will star Priyanka Chopra as Kalpana Chawla.  During her second expedition with six crew members in February 2003, the space shuttle exploded, killing all the members aboard it. Kalpana Chawla had spent 31 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space.

 

Former captain of the Indian cricket team MS Dhoni is set to produce a film based on the life of hockey player Dhyan Chand, which will be directed by Rohit Vaid. Varun Dhawan may play lead role.

 

Sushant Singh Rajput features in another biopic, on Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and Paralympics in Germany in 1972. The army man-turned-sportsman Petkar, also set a world record in the 50m freestyle swimming. The film will be presented by Shekhar Kapur who is right now looking for a suitable director for the film.

 

Ketan Mehta's Rani Lakshmi Bhai with Kangana Ranaut essaying the title role in the film. Ketan Mehta has in the past made biopics on Mangal Pandey, Manjhi, Sardar, Rang Rasiya will direct this film.

 

Following is the list of some of the notable biopics that one has seen over the years coming out from Bollywood:

 

 

2017

Raees

An action crime thriller film directed by Rahul Dholakia and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raees, was a biopic loosely based on the life of Gujarati don, Abdul Latif Shaikh. The filmmakers had to deny the similarity with the deceased don’s life after Abdul Latif's son filed a case claiming monetary compensation of a few crores.

2016

Azhar

Directed by Tony D'Souza, Azhar was based on the life of one of the most renowned as well as controversial captains of the Indian cricket team, Mohammad Azharuddin, it had Emraan Hashmi playing the titular role. The sports action was done by Rob Miller of Reel Sports. The film drew some criticism for its fictionalised interpretation of events.

 Dhoni: The Untold Story

One of the many sports films to release in 2016, 'Dhoni: The Untold Story' was based on the life of the most successful Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.  Sushant Singh Rajput played the Dhoni in the film which was directed by A Wednesday director Neeraj Pandey.

Sarbjit

Sarbjit was based on the life and struggle of Sarbjit Singh, an Indian man who was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1991 and who consequently spent 22 years in prison for alleged terrorism and spying. Randeep Hooda portrayed the titular role of Sarbjit  while Aishwarya Rai Bachchan played the role of his sister, Dalbir Kaur, from whose perspective the story is told. After Mary Kom in 2014 this was director Omung Kumar’s second biopic.

 

Neerja

Neerja was one of the first biopics to hit the screens in 2016. It is based on the life of flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life to save passengers of the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986. The film, directed by Ram Madhvani, has Sonam Kapoor playing the title role.

Aligarh

Directed by Hansal Mehta, Aligarh, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao, is based on the life of Aligarh Muslim University professor, Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was dismissed from his position on charges of homosexuality.  Bajpayee won huge critical acclaim  for his portrayal of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras.

Dangal

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari Dangal had Aamir Khan portraying the role of Indian professional wrestler and Olympic coach Mahavir Singh Phogat, who taught wrestling to his daughters Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat. Geeta Phogat was India's first female wrestler to win at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where she won the gold medal (55 kg) while her sister Babita Kumari won the silver (51 kg). The movie portrays the emotional journey and the equation between the family. Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, a coach with the Indian women's wrestling team, trained Aamir Khan and the entire crew for the wrestling sequences.

Budhia Singh – Born to Run

Directed by Soumendra Padhi. Budhia Singh – Born to Run, is based on the life of Budhia Singh, world's youngest marathon runner, who ran 48 marathons, when he was only five years old.The film stars Manoj Bajpayee as a coach and Mayur Patole as the title character.  The film won a national award for best children's film at the 63rd national Awards, 2016.

2015

Manjhi: The Mountain Man

Manjhi: The Mountain Man is based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi. Manjhi, widely known as the "Mountain Man", who spent 23 years single-handedly chiselling a path through a mountain.  A poor labourer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar,  Manjhi carved a path 9.1 metres (30 ft) wide and 110 metres (360 ft) long through a hill 7.6 metres (25 ft) using only a hammer and chisel. The film is directed by Ketan Mehta. Nawazuddin Siddiqui enacted the role of Dashrath Manjhi, while Radhika Apte played Manjhi's wife.

2014

Mary Kom

In Mary Kom , Priyanka Chopra played the role of World Boxing Champion and Olympic Bronze Medallist Mary Kom. The film, was directed by Omung Kumar, who later went on to make another biopic in 2016, Sarbjit. Mary Kom depicts Kom's journey of becoming a boxer to her victory at the 2008 World Boxing Championships in Ningbo. Chopra underwent extensive physical training for three months to attain a muscular physique and learned Kom's distinct boxing style. After plans to shoot in Kom's hometown, Manipur, were dropped due to safety concerns, Mary Kom was shot in Dharamshala and Manali, where a major portion of Manipur was recreated.

2013

Shahid

Shahid, starring Rajkummar Rao, was based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010. Directed by Hansal Mehta, Shahid, won National Film Awards for Best Actor and Best Director at the 61st National Film Awards ceremony. Interestingly, the real life Shahid Azmi had defended the 2004 film Black Friday in the courts while it was languishing with the censor board for its controversial content. Anurag Kashyap, the director of Black Friday, went on to co-produce Shahid.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is based on the life of Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who was popularly known as The Flying Sikh. Farhan Akhtar played Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete who was a national champion runner and an Olympian, in the film which had a heady dose of sports and patriotism.

2012

Paan Singh Tomar

The Tigmanshu Dhulia directed Paan Singh Tomar  is based on the life of an accomplished Indian athlete who is forced to become a bandit, when the system fails him. The film, saw Irrfan Khan playing the title role of Paan Singh Tomar.

2011

The Dirty Picture

The Dirty Picture was based on the life of south Indian actress Silk Smitha. More often than not, movies that are based on the film industry have traditionally failed at the box office. But the Milan Luthria directed film is a rare biopic that found favour both with the audience and critics alike. Vidya Balan played biggest hit till date.

2008

Rang Rasiya

Rang Rasiya is based on the life of well-known 19th-century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. The film was as controversial as the life of the painter it depicted. Made as a bilingual, the film is titled Rang Rasiya in its Hindi version and Colours of Passion in English. The film, directed by Ketan Mehta, is produced by his wife Deepa Sahi and Aanand Mahendroo. It stars Randeep Hooda as the title character and Nandana Sen as his love interest.

2007

 

Chak De India

Chak De! India, directed by Shimit Amin, was inspired by the true life events of  Mir Ranjan Negi, former captain of the Indian men's national field-hockey team. The film depicts how a disgraced hockey player coaches the women's hockey team to win the world championship. The film stars Shahrukh Khan as Kabir  Khan,  who after a disastrous loss to Pakistan is ostracized from the sport and he and his mother are driven from the family home by angry neighbors. Seven years later, to redeem himself, Khan becomes the coach of the Indian national women's hockey team and aims to turn its sixteen contentious players into a championship unit.

 

Guru

Guru was loosely based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate who founded Reliance Industries. The film was co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam.. The film had Abhishek Bachchan essaying the lead role, while Aishwarya Rai played his wife in the film. The film was dubbed and released simultaneously in Tamil as Guru and in Telugu as Gurukanth.

2005

Mangal Pandey: The Rising

Mangal Pandey: The Rising is a film based on the life of Mangal Pandey, an Indian soldier known for helping to spark the Indian rebellion of 1857 (also known as "The First War of Indian Independence"). It is directed by Ketan Mehta. The lead role is played by Aamir Khan, marking his comeback after he had gone into hiatus after Dil Chahta Hai (2001).

2004

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero

Based on the life of Subhash Chandra Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero is one of the rare films on the Indian freedom fighter. Written and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film starred Sachin in the role of Subhas Chandra Bose. The film depicts the life of the Indian independence leader Bose in Nazi Germany: 1941–1943, and In Japanese-occupied Asia 1943–1945, and the events leading to the formation of Azad Hind Fauj.

2002

23rd March 1931: Shaheed

23rd March 1931: Shaheed, directed by Guddu Dhanoa which depicts the events leading up to the hanging of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and his companions Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23 March 1931. The film stars Bobby Deol as Bhagat Singh, his elder brother Sunny Deol as Chandrashekhar Azad and Amrita Singh in her comeback role as Bhagat Singh's mother.

The film's release coincided with another film based on Bhagat Singh directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and titled The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Both films bombed at the box office and were both declared disasters.

2000

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is an English language film, directed by Jabbar Patel. It tells the story of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, known mainly for his contributions in shaping the Constitution of India, as the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constituent Assembly. The film was dubbed in nine Indian languages.

The role of Ambedkar was played by Malayalam film actor Mammootty. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor that year. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar won the National Film Awards for Best feature film in English and Best Art Direction (Nitin Chandrakant Desai) in 1999.

1999

Godmother

Godmother , directed by Vinay Shukla, was ostensibly inspired by the life of Santokben Jadeja, who ran the Mafia operations of Porbandar, Gujarat, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and later turned politician. Shabana Azmi portrayed God Mother or Santokben Jadeja in the film.

1994

Bandit Queen

Bandit Queen landed in controversy when it released way back in 1996. Telling the tale of infamous dacoit Phoolan Devi, the film starred Seema Biswas in a role of a woman torn by the patriarchal society, just to become a bandit, and then a politician. The film, directed by Shekhar Kapur, is one of the most well-crafted and controversial biopics of Hindi cinema. The film was able to launch Shekhar Kapur as a director at  international level.

Sardar

Sardar, based on the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of India's greatest freedom fighters was directed by Ketan Mehta and written by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The film starred Paresh Rawal in the titular role.

1982

Gandhi

Directed by British actor-director Richard Attenborough, Gandhi is definitely one of the most accomplished biopics on Mahatma Gandhi. Yes, not a Hindi film, least to say Bollywood, but it certainly deserves a honourary mention.