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Journalism of Courage
Although interesting,epics dont go beyond the obvious whereas biopics tell you so much more about a person.
When I asked a college-going student why he was going to watch Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai,he said he was curious to see the life of a real-life smuggler. The success of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai,reportedly based on the life of the 70s Mumbai-based smuggler Haji Mastan,proves that bio-pics of real life heroes can be as interesting as a scripted story. After all,famous people like Mastan have a multifaceted personality that the audience is always curious to know on which aspect the director is going to concentrate. The gray shades in Mastans character and his equally intriguing romantic life made it an unique experience for the theatre-going audience.
On the other side of the spectrum are religious epics. Last week,I was very curious to see Ramayana-The Epic,wondering how director Chetan Desai was going to make it a new experience for the theatre-going audience. Everything about the film was in place,from the stunning animation to the picture- perfect Ram and Sita to the music. But there was nothing new in terms of the story. This is because you know what is coming next. There is no curiosity for the person sitting in the audience. Ram is so entrenched in our lives that adding anything new becomes a moot point for filmmakers. This reduces the appeal of such epics compared to biopics where the audience is sure to learn something more than they already know about the character on whose life the film is based. Given a choice,I,like many others,would prefer biopics over epics.
