It’s raining biopics in Bollywood

In April, “Diljit Dosanjh”, which recreates the life and times of legendary Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkira in Imtiaz Ali’s “Chamkira”, and football coach Syed Abdul Rahim’s emotional Two films, “Maidan”, a biographical sports drama directed by Ajay Devgn, which depicts the story of a man, will be released.

Film director Imtiaz Ali has candidly revealed that his film depicts the dramatic life of Amar Singh Chamkira, who was assassinated in 1988 at the age of 27. “This is something that’s built on facts, and as a filmmaker, I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to manipulate things and come up with scenes.”

Biographical films are a popular genre, giving audiences the ability to travel to different time and space, giving them the chance to experience the life and times of famous or infamous figures. Politicians, gangsters, movie stars, freedom fighters, and even citizens and activists have been inspired and told stories by the movies. Films like ‘Pan Singh Tomar’, ‘Sardar’, ‘Sardar Udham’ and ‘Neerja’ have been highly acclaimed. The blockbusters were Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Super 30 and Sanju.

Some films have failed at the box office, most recently Pankaj Tripathi’s “Main Atal Hoon” and Randeep Hooda’s “Swtantra Veer Sawarkar” were released. Both films failed to garner an audience and actor Randeep Hooda even confessed to selling his properties to raise funds for the film. The two films join a long list of political biopics in the subgenre that have underperformed, including Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Thalavi’ about late Chief Minister JR Jayalalithaa and Prime Minister Vivek Oberoi’s Narendra Modi. Become.

Industry experts say, “Unlike Hollywood, which has released films depicting individuals with all their flaws, such as JFK, Vice, Charlie Wilson’s War, and most recently Oppenheimer, Bollywood has shown them demigods. “There is a tendency to give them a similar status.” . There is an inherent tendency to disguise the truth. I want to humanize them and show them as perfect beings. You can also play it safe since very often there will be family interference and you will be accused of lawsuits and restraining orders. ”

One film critic said that there was no room for analysis in these films and that the representation of the leader was uncritical in the minds of the general public. There is no room for debate and everyone is on the safe path. ”

But trade analyst Sumit Kader says other factors are also at play. “As was the case with the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the subject lived a very simple life and was an uncontroversial figure. We all know his contributions and have seen him closely. His life as a politician wasn’t glamorous enough to draw people to the theater. The story needs a hook to draw people in.”

Swatantra Veer Savarkar has a revenue of Rs 15 billion and its lifetime business is estimated to be Rs 25 billion. But apart from this subject, Sumit Kadel adds that in a business driven by numbers, star power, marketing, production and promotion are very important. “Political biopics only work if they star big stars and are backed by prolific production houses. Pankaj Tripathi is a great actor but not mainstream and neither is Randeep Hooda. , the content of the film and its marketing are very important to lead to ticket sales.”