STARS’ TRYST WITH THE PAST
As Raazi hits the bull’s eye at the box office, we look at how several top actors have taken up period films
The Alia Bhatt-starrer Raazi, about a young spy in 1971, is sweeping up both cash and praise, and its success draws attention to the fact that several Bollywood A-listers are doing or have just done a period drama. While Ajay Devgn’s Raid was a recent release, all set to hit the theatres are Akshay Kumar’s Kesari and Gold, and Aamir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan. Shah Rukh Khan is set to star in Rakesh Sharma’s biopic, Salute, set in the early 1980s, while the Salman Khan-starrer Bharat spans 70 years and revolves largely around the Partition.
WAR, SPORT, SPACE
While Kesari recreates the fierce 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, Akshay’s Gold is about India winning its first gold medal in field hockey as a free nation in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Ajay Devgn’s Taanaji, based on the life of the Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare, is set around 1670.
Besides the three big Khans, there are period dramas such as the Nawazuddin Siddiquistarrer Manto, set around the Partition; Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika, based on the Rani of Jhansi, Laxmibai; and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Panipat, based on the third battle of Panipat, which will transport audiences to 1761.
Karan Johar’s Kalank, with Alia in the lead, is set in the 1940s. The Ranbir Kapoor Sanjay Dutt film Shamshera is believed to be a period film, too.
NOVELTY FACTOR
Experts call it “great thinking” on the part of filmmakers. “Period films/characters bring uniqueness to the table. Also, nowadays, not many actors want to do formula films. We can all relate to the stories from our history, so it makes complete sense to make period dramas,” says Sanjay Gupta, whose film Shootout At Wadala was set in the 1980s.
Trade expert Taran Adarsh says that stories from the past add a “novelty factor”.
“That automatically leads to curiosity among audiences. Since such films require an era to be recreated, they offer something new to audiences, unlike contemporary or run-ofthe-mill films. It challenges actors as well, so it’s a win-win situation for all,” says Adarsh.
NOT A CAKEWALK
But experts, filmmakers as well as actors agree that attempting a period film isn’t “easy at all”. To start with, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who directed Padmaavat, admits that it’s difficult to make period films, because one needs to go back to that era and figure out what the atmosphere used to be or the way people spoke, dressed and behaved. Alia says that her part in Kalank is “quite difficult.” She says, “Initially, when I started shooting for it, I did not realise it. But then, I was like, ‘It’s so difficult. Why am I struggling?’”
Adarsh puts things in perspective: “Actors can’t take period dramas for granted as they have to live and breathe these characters. Else, they may look forced or like a caricature. Viewers must believe they’re seeing the real world.”