LIKE flies hovering over a mithai in a sweetshop, Bollywood filmmakers keep gravitating to an old trend that never gets old: biopics. At least five such movies have hit the theatres this year, with the most awaited one, Emergency, yet to find a release date. This sub-genre has thrived for so long that even the reported pieces on it sound stale. Commenting on the trend in 2015 and 2024, The Quint and Deccan Chronicle published identical headlines ("It's Raining Biopics in Bollywood"). With over 40 of them releasing in the last decade-many finding novel ways to be mediocre, swinging from braindead to propagandist-this formula continues to flourish.
This surge in interest seems remarkable, as biopics didn't interest Bollywood filmmakers for decades. They had remained so indifferent to real stories that it took a foreign director-and production house-to make a movie on a revered Indian, Gandhi (1982). It makes sense. For an industry fixated on sweeping spectacles-soaked in songs, escapism, and melodrama-Bollywood revels in not depicting, but contradicting, realism.
So art-house filmmakers sought to harness the biopics' potential. Shyam Benegal made Bhumika (1977), exploring the life of Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar, and later, Zubeidaa (2001). Ketan Mehta's Sardar (1993) won two National Awards. And when a commercial director, Shekhar Kapur, helmed Bandit Queen (1994), he chose stark realism-theatre actors, no songs, shocking violence-positioning it as a 'serious movie'. Some filmmakers gave a new spin to the format by making mainstream, yet 'reflexive', dramas, such as Guru Dutt (Kaagaz Ke Phool) and Raj Kapoor (Mera Naam Joker).
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin October 01, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin October 01, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Emergency, Stalled
Kangana Ranaut starrer, Emergency, the eagerly awaited biopic of 2024, is yet to find a release date. Bollywood has churned out a slew of biopics in the last decade, most of them formulaic
Political Dangal
After fighting hard for Olympic glory and protesting against sexual violence, Vinesh Phogat has now stepped into a new role: the politician
Contending Nationalisms
The Manipur crisis is a complex, interconnected mess that spills across several borders, national and international
God, Communism and a Women's Gym
Unlike other constituencies in the region, Kulgam stands out as a battleground for ideological conflict. The election results, expected on October 8, could lead to either celebration in the CPI M) camp or the Jamaat-e-Islami camp
The Darkest Hour
Qurban Ali is a senior journalist and son of former freedom fighter and Socialist leader Captain Abbas Ali, who was jailed for 19 months by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency.
Chronicle of Authoritarianism Foretold?
Eternal vigilance on the part of citizens is imperative Eternal vigilance on the part of citizens is imperative
Blank Editorials
Despite being under scrutiny during the Emergency, small journals like Himmat Weekly got around censorship by taking calculated risks
To Write or Not to Write
For many journalists, reporting in the volatile decade of the 1970s was both exciting and challenging
Indira, the Nationalist
Indira Gandhi is dead and she cannot defend herself. But that doesn't mean others can't
Blue Star and the Golden Temple
Bhindranwale was able to get away with wrongdoings because in the eyes of the Congress leadership in Delhi, Punjab had a Sikh problem since Independence’