How Bollywood Biopics Indicate Lack of Creativity in Filmmakers
Bollywood filmmakers seem to be smitten by the idea of biopics lately. Over the past few years, it’s been raining biopics heavily in B-town. This genre in itself can be divided into subcategories like sports biopic, biopic on people of national and historic importance and then.. movies like Sanju, which can’t fit in any of the above categories!!!
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| Film – Sanju |
Yes, Sanjay Dutt had a quite eventful life with drugs, jail, personal affairs, etc. But I still don’t get it why a film had to be made based on his life, that too so soon?
I accept that the movie saw some remarkable performances by the lead as well as supporting actors but the film did face some allegations that it has immensely whitewashed Sanjay Dutt’s image. The film was more of a glorification of Sanjay Dutt’s controversial life.
However, Rajkumar Hirani did rubbish the allegations against his film that his intention was never to whitewash rather provide an insight into the eventful life of veteran actor Sanjay Dutt.
MS Dhoni is a hugely celebrated cricketer. A film on his life gave a wider sneak-peek to his story. But somewhere I still couldn’t comprehend for the need of his biopic at such an early stage. Umpteen players in the team have made it so far after persisting through difficult times.
Does it really make sense to make a film on every cricketer who scored a century? All these sportsmen and sportswomen have an inspiring tale of struggle, hard work and dedication to tell, true, but when it comes to picturizing these stories, the element of uniqueness is somewhere at stake, ain’t it?
Similar is the case with Saina, a biopic on Badminton player Saina Nehwal and a movie based on the life of Mithali Raj, captain of Women’s Indian cricket team played by the very versatile Tapsee Pannu.
Film 83 stands out as an exception. It tells the tale of those resolute players who, in spite of lacking proper facilities, went to Lords, England only to return as champions and bring home India’s first Cricket World Cup. It was a proud moment, my father often recollects. The struggle, the hardship, the teamwork, demands to bring in front of the young millennials.
The film revolves around Kapil Dev, the then captain of the Indian cricket team and how he and his team went on to create history at Lords, a tale getting long forgotten.
Does it really make sense to make a film on every cricketer who scored a century? All these sportsmen and sportswomen have an inspiring tale of struggle, hard work and dedication to tell, true, but when it comes to picturizing these stories, the element of uniqueness is somewhere at stake, ain’t it?
Similar is the case with Saina, a biopic on Badminton player Saina Nehwal and a movie based on the life of Mithali Raj, captain of Women’s Indian cricket team played by the very versatile Tapsee Pannu.
Film 83 stands out as an exception. It tells the tale of those resolute players who, in spite of lacking proper facilities, went to Lords, England only to return as champions and bring home India’s first Cricket World Cup. It was a proud moment, my father often recollects. The struggle, the hardship, the teamwork, demands to bring in front of the young millennials.
The film revolves around Kapil Dev, the then captain of the Indian cricket team and how he and his team went on to create history at Lords, a tale getting long forgotten.
Well who knows which next sportsperson who wins a grand slam or hits century will be captured on the celluloid!!
While the tinsel town is busy making biopics on every sportsperson with media attention or a medal, some makers, realizing the true purpose of biopics brought to the screens life of some unsung heroes who are either long forgotten or not given enough attention.
Neeraja Bhanot was indeed a great woman and someone the youngsters should look up to as an inspiration. It is only because of the film “Neeraja” that many youngsters including me got to know about her brave rescue mission from a hijacked plane at which she eventually lost her life.
Neeraja Bhanot was indeed a great woman and someone the youngsters should look up to as an inspiration. It is only because of the film “Neeraja” that many youngsters including me got to know about her brave rescue mission from a hijacked plane at which she eventually lost her life.
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| Film – Neerja |
We could never imagine a man from a place like Haryana, where the sex ratio shines the worst, to train his four daughters to become the world’s finest wrestlers, again a profession considered to be molded for men. People like Mahavir Singh Phogat is what our nation needs. The movie Dangal is a delight to watch. This movie is sure to give you goosebumps of nation love.
Another set of films based on best-sellers are also on a roll. This again makes me question the existence of creative writers in Bollywood. Chetan Bhagat has always been a favorite of the filmmakers. He writes a book and there are directors and producers lined up to translate his book to a movie.
Well, books made into movies are very well driven by content and provide a vast scope for performance. Films like Kai Po Che and Lootera are poignancy at its best. You must be of the same opinion that a watching a movie after reading and having fallen in love with the book, is unstinting, while the case is not true vice versa!!
Gully Boy, Badla and Article 15 are few of those phenomenal movies that released recently which did not owe the credit for their success to any living legend or a sportsperson. Chhichhore too deserves a mention. Though the movie is developed from its director Nitesh Tiwari’s IIT Bombay days, experiences are the mother of all great stories. Even the humor in the film maintained a dignity unlike resorting to cheap and cliché jokes.
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| Film – Chicchore |
Somewhere a rework on the declined creative quotient needs to be done and the mechanism ain’t so difficult. All they need to do is…THINK THEIR BRAINS OUT!!!
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