A big boom for biographical dramas

From inspiring stories of sportspersons, valiant tales of freedom fighters and unsung war heroes, and uplifting narratives about the underdogs — the biographical genre has come into its own in Bollywood, giving the audience a good dose of ‘reality’ on the big screen the whole year-round.

Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior, a biographical period action film on Tanaji Malusare, a 17th century Maratha warrior, and Chhapaak, on a real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, have already set the stage for the slate this year.

Director Om Raut shared that his grandparents told Tanaji’s tales to him in childhood, and he was “influenced by his bravery and selflessness”. On deciding to make a film on the subject, he says, “People do not read history books or newspapers, but cinema is watched by a lot of people. So, it is a brilliant tool to tell stories.”

In the coming months, films such as Gunjan Saxena: The

Kargil Girl, a the Indian Air Force Pilot; ’83, on India’s historic win at the 1983 Cricket World Cup; Shakuntala Devi, on the ‘human computer’; and Thalaivi, on former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, will take a leaf out of reality.

Leading stars as well as young talents are all for taking on roles in these films.

Akshay, who’ll be playing the role of Prithviraj Chauhan, believes, “As a nation, we should always celebrate our heroes and immortalise what they did.”

Sidharth Malhotra, who rapped up Shershaah just arlier this week, has said hat it’s an “absolute honour be able to paint the big reen with the shades of bravery and sacrifice” with the biopic on a “real life hero”.

Apoorva Mehta, producer, says, “Art often takes inspiration from life, and with numerous entertainment options available for consumers, filmmakers are increasingly looking at inspirational people and events from history or real life.”

He adds, “Today’s audiences are interested in the stories they can relate to, and also left a stamp in history. One of the main reasons why biopics work so well at the box office is that they score high in terms of the infotainment quotient.”

The slate also includes Gangubai Kathiawadi, on a notorious mafia queen who was also a brothel owner; Sardar Udham Singh, on the revolutionary freedom fighter; Prithviraj, on the fearless king Prithviraj Chauhan; Saina, based on badminton star Saina Nehwal and Shershaah, on Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that getting a biographical drama right involves a few crucial aspects — “choosing a subject that generates curiosity, choosing how to amalgamate different chapters of a person’s life to tell it interestingly in a maximum of three hours, and choosing a cast that pulls in the audience”.