True to life

There are more in the industry who will be telling the story of interesting Indians on celluloid. Ram Gopal Varma is ready with a two-part biopic Rakta Charitra,a film based on the life of Paritala Ravi,who started off as a Naxalite leader in Andhra Pradesh and went on to become a mainstream politician. K Sera Sera Productions will bring alive the life and career of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand. However,it’s Kishore Kumar who tops the list when it comes to the favourite subject for biopics. At least two projects are being planned to show his story.

Bollywood seems to have woken up to the charms of biopics only recently. Though filmmakers came out with biopics such as Sardar or Legend of Bhagat Singh once in a while,this genre has never been popular. However,filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra,who has made biopics like Bawandar and Provoked,maintains that this is not a passing fad. “Today,a filmmaker has the choice of making a film for a selective audience. This has given him the courage to experiment with genres.”

Production houses too have extended support to such projects. Sanjay Gupta,CEO,K Sera Sera,says,“Dhyan Chand is probably the only hockey player recognised by the youths today. Our main aim is to revive the game,which has become a shadow of itself. Even before we start the shoot,we are holding a nationwide hunt for the best hockey player to play the role of Dhyan Chand in the film.”

A certain amount of veracity is expected of biopics,often to reduce the risk of libel. But the films often alter events to suit the storyline. Events are sometimes portrayed more dramatically while time is condensed to fit all important events into the film or several people are blended into a composite. “When you are portraying a particular year of a person’s life,one needs to select the critical instances of that year. The toughest part is obviously making a story out of your research,because you never know what might hurt the sentiments of the people close to him,” says Varma,whose two-part film will not just chronicle the life of Ravi,but also his rival Maatal Suri.

A number of biopics,like Aamir Khan-starrer Mangal Pandey: The Rising and Bobby Deol-starrer Shaheed,were duds. “A biopic works as a celebration of human stories and not just informational documentaries,” says Samir Gupta,who will produce the Kishore Kumar biopic. “Kumar is such a colourful personality that there could be 10 films made around him at the same and all of them could be different,” he says. This is the reason why Anurag Basu too has decided to direct another biopic on the legendary singer.

Research is a must for a biopic. Hence,it’s very time-consuming. “I have been regularly visiting Milkha Singh and his town for a while now,” says Mehra. Similarly,Varma,who is known to churn out films every three months,spent two years getting information on Ravi. But he insists that a biopic is basically the story of a character. “The actor has to get into the skin of the character,for the film to be convincing,” says Varma.

With biopics being the flavour of the season in Bollywood,more filmmakers are keen to jump onto the bandwagon. Aamir Khan is likely to play Guru Dutt while Mundhra has the scripted a film based on Sonia Gandhi. But Mundhra’s plan of making the film has been scuttled by the Congress. “I have not given up hope. I am waiting for Mrs Gandhi to give the nod,” he says.