By Shruti Sonal:
After the success of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and ‘Mary Kom’, adapting the stories of real-life individuals into biopics for the big screen seems to be the new trend in Bollywood. While sportspersons remain the favourite choice, the industry is also digging out little-known stories of “ordinary” individuals and narrating them to the audience like never before. Here are 5 individuals who have inspired biopics in 2016:
Neerja Bhanot was present as a flight attendant on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73 that was hijacked in Karachi, Pakistan. Showing extraordinary courage, she died saving passengers from terrorists on 5th September 1986. She became the youngest recipient of Ashoka Chakra – India’s highest peacetime military award for bravery, which she received posthumously. Her courageous story has inspired a biopic to be directed by Ram Madhvani and starring Sonam Kapoor in the lead.
Release date: February 19
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7779JrWy04g]
Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh‘ is a movie based on the real-life incident of Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra, a professor at Aligarh Muslim University who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation. The expulsion came after a local television channel carried out a sting operation, filming his homosexual alliance with a rickshaw driver. The professor led a lonely life, challenging his expulsion in court before committing suicide. Starring actor Manoj Bajpayee in the lead, the movie will focus on the issues of right to privacy and criminalisation of homosexuality.
Release date: 26th February
3. Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin has been a cricketer known both for his life on and off the pitch. Having played 51 ODIs and 169 tests for the Indian cricket team, his career was cut short by a ban for being a part of the match-fixing scandal that shook the cricketing world in 2000. His personal life too has been in the light for the wrong reasons, due to multiple marriages and alleged affairs. The movie, titled ‘Azhar‘, has been directed by debutant director Tony Dsouza and stars Emraan Hashmi as the cricketer.
Release date: 13th May
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC3GwyLmZQE]
4. M.S. Dhoni
Not only is he one of the most loved cricketers of this generation, but also a brand in himself. The biopic titled ‘Dhoni: The Untold Story‘ starring Sushant Singh Rajput traces the journey of the small town cricketer from Ranchi to the victory stage of World Cup. Dhoni, often labelled as the most successful Indian captain and known for his fearless choices as much as the “helicopter shot”, is a man whose story has inspired many.
Release date: 2nd September
The movie ‘Dangal’ revolves around the life of wrestler Mahavir Phogat Singh – to be played by Aamir Khan – who quit his job to train his daughters in wrestling. Nearly ostracised in his conservative village in Haryana for letting his daughters into a sport considered a “man’s job”, his hard work paid off. Two of his daughters Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat won the gold and silver respectively at the Commonwealth Games 2010 held in Delhi.
Release date: 23rd December