The
latest trend in Bollywood is the race of making a successful biopic. In the
last few years, Bollywood has seen many biopics being made and a dozen
filmmakers are in the process of making many more of them. A biopic is normally
made on the life of an influential person who has impacted society with their
work. As per the trade analysts, biopics if told honestly onscreen are bound to
be well received by audiences. While most filmmakers who have played it safe
with biopics have made a lot of money at the box office, there have been
several biopics that have been made on politicians, criminals, sports
personalities, influencers, businessmen and even on Bollywood stars. Some of
these biopics have done well even when the protagonist was an anti-hero or had
a few controversies attached to them even though they were public figures. Lets
us look into some of the biopics that have been made or are being made on
controversial public figures who even after having dark truths attached to them
make for an interesting tale to witness.
Shakeela
Fukrey’s
Bholi Punjaban, Richa Chadha has some interesting projects lined up this year.
Other than Amazon Prime’s original series Inside Edge season 2, Richa will be also be
seen in Anubhav Sinha’s Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui. She has also recently started
shooting for Indrajit Lankesh’s Shakeela Khan, a biopic on the immensely
popular Malayalam adult film superstar. Shakeela was considered as one of the
most controversial figures in the south film industry. She started off her film
career at an early age and went on to becoming stiff competition for many
popular Malayalam superstars, because nobody could compete with her. The film
is controversial not just because of her foray into adult films but her choices
in life, the difficulties she had to face, the producers and actors who have
either belittled her or misused her and how she triumphed through it all. Richa
is currently shooting for the film in the remote village of Karnataka and the
film is slated to release mid-2019.
Manto
Actor
and director Nandita Das’ upcoming biopic on the life and works of Urdu’s most
celebrated poet and writer Saadat Hasan Manto is one the most awaited films of
the year. The title character Manto enacted by versatile actor Nawazuddin
Siddiqui and his wife Safiya Manto enacted by Rasika Dugal is one of the
biggest reasons audiences have been keenly awaiting the release of the film.
Manto’s life and writing have always been into controversy. His writings were
so controversial that he was forced to leave the country. His stories were
deemed obscene by the courts and he spent his last years fighting legal battles
to defend his right to write.
Sasikala
One
of the most controversial and immensely talented filmmakers Ram Gopal Verma aka
RGV after delivering the third instalment of Sarkar movie series, last year
announced a biopic on late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's close
confidant VK Sasikala. Convicted former AIADMK leader VK Sasikala, who is
currently lodged in Bengaluru’s Parappanna Agrahara Jail, has many
controversies attached to her attracting filmmakers to helm a biopic on her.
Sasikala is convicted by Karnataka High Court in the Disproportionate Assets
Case. RGV is yet to announce the cast of the film but if he chooses to plan the
film it would make an interesting plot to see on celluloid.
The
Accidental Prime Minister
One
of the most awaited films of the year is The Accidental Prime Minister an
upcoming Indian biographical political drama film directed by Vijay Ratnakar
Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari. Anupam Kher will be seen playing as the
former prime minister of India Manmohan Singh, the economist and politician who
served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United
Progressive Alliance. The film is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name
by Sanjaya Baru. The film is slated to release on 21 December 2018. The film already
attracted multiple controversies around it due its bold content as mentioned in
the book. The book says Manmohan Singh during his tenure turned a blind eye to
corruption by his colleagues in Congress. He was often blamed by press that
Sonia Gandhi was the power in the centre and took all the major decision
undermining the authority of Prime Minister. Manmohan had no control over his
Cabinet colleagues in his second terms. This biopic would make an interesting
plot to see the real life political drama on one of the most controversial
figures of current time. The rest of the cast includes Akshaye Khanna, Suzanne
Bernert, and Aahana Kumra amongst others.
Osho
The
man who needs no introduction, Osho, was a guru and cult leader. A commune that
began as forward thinking and progressive ended up being a shocking
dictatorship with a private army, cases of poisoning, silencing rebels etc. His
followers were world over and flocked to his Pune ashram and then to Oregon
too. While there is a Netflix series on the guru, news has been doing the
rounds that Aamir Khan, our favourite perfectionist might be doing the role of
Osho in an upcoming biopic on the guru. We are yet to hear an official
announcement but if there ever was a life filled with controversies that needed
to be made into a film, it has to be Osho’s and who better than Aamir to play
it.
