10 biopics that Indian cinema (Bollywood) should definitely produce!

For those who have confusion, biopic is a biographical movie which depicts life events of a person onscreen. Some renowned personalities on which directors have already created biopics include Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Milkha Singh and Dhirubhai Ambani to name a few.
Lives of some lesser known personalities like Dashrath Manjhi, Arvind Desai and Manjunath have also been converted into films (Do not miss their movies if you love biopics.)
Let’s look at some well-known personalities which deserve a film of their own due to their heroic acts or just because of their exciting life. (The list does not contain the name of Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar as someone in future will definitely carve out their lives on big screen.)

10) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966)
Profession – Politician, Freedom Fighter

Second prime minister of independent India, he was the man behind ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.’ His role behind the glorious victory of India against Pakistan in 1965 made him a true patriotic leader. His was also part of Indian Independence movement who followed leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi.
Though as per the official reports, he died due to heart attack, but it is believed by many Indians that he was poisoned. A great biopic maker like Ketan Mehta can do justice to his life by reflecting persona of this common man’s hero.
9) Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava (1912–2009)
Profession – Conman

Popularly referred as Natwarlal, he was the most popular con man of India. He was prominent personality who “sold” monuments like Red Fort, Taj Mahal and Rashtrapati Bhavan as a part of his con job. He is also said to have conned some business giants like Dhirubhai Ambani and Tatas. The man was able to run away from jail nine times which is also the number of times he was arrested.
His vibrant life can definitely be turned into an entertaining biopic. If made effectively, the movie on his memoirs will prove to be a better flick than Hollywood’s ‘Catch Me If You Can.’

8) Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)
Profession – Politician

It is surprising that there is no movie yet which is dedicated to her life. Though Gulzar’s movies like ‘Aandhi’ and ‘Kissa Kursi Kaa’ had very few hints related to her life, we still need a film showcases her vibrant career as the first Indian lady Prime Minister. Her personal and professional life was an amalgamation of achievements and controversies. Various events of Indian history like associated with her life like:
 Indo-Pak 1971 war
 Operation Blue Star
 Emergency
Movie on her life will definitely be worth watching but it is possibility that it may itself become part of some controversies.

7) Dhyan Chand (1905-1979)
Profession – Hockey Player

This legendary hockey player deserves a grand presentation of his life in form of a sports movie dedicated to his achievements.
There is an incident where his hockey stick was broken by the authorities of Netherlands to check if there was any magnet inside it. He was even offered Colonel’s post in German army by Hitler himself. Such was his popularity in the world!
There is already an autobiographical book by him with the title ‘Goal’ published in 1952.

6) Aryabhatta (476 AD - 550 AD)
Profession – Mathematician, Astronomer

The man behind great mathematical discoveries like ‘zero’ and place value system definitely deserves a movie to pay off what he has given to the society.
He also gave theories related to astronomical phenomenon like eclipses, sidereal periods and motions of the solar system.

5) Amrita Pritam (1919-2005)
Profession – Novelist, Poet

She has written an array of literary works like poems, novels, short stories and autobiographies. In her writing career, 28 novels are penned down by her.
The popular Hindi movie cinema was based on one of her novels of the same name. Her autobiographical book ‘Rasidi Ticket’ is quite controversial and can be source of plot points for her biopic. Several of her works also depicted the scenario of Indo-Pak partition period.

4) Kalpana Chawla (1962–2003) =
Profession – Astronaut

This will also mark of debut of Indian cinema in a movie depicting space travel. Her life as first Indian lady in space will definitely be an inspiring story for Indian women. She was part of crew members which were killed during Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003.

3) M F Hussain - (1915–2011)
Profession – Painter, Film maker

Just like his paintings, his own life was full of depth and controversies. Someone like Amitabh can do justice for the role of this great artist who has left a legacy for Indians in the shape of art form. It will be heartening to see the life of such a great artist who banned to enter his own country.

2) JRD Tata – (1904-1993)
Profession – Aviator, Businessman

The man was first licensed pilot of India and founder of prominent companies like TCS, Tata Motors and Air India. He received Padama Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna for his contributions. A controversy is also attached to his life where he supported Emergency implemented by Indira Gandhi. His gigantic life definitely deserves a film!

1) APJ Abdul Kalam (1931-2015)
Profession – Scientist, Former President

I guess there is hardly any Indian who does not respect this great personality. His sudden death few weeks ago shocked the whole nation. His life with multiple facets was indeed an inspiration for every struggling individual. Do I really need to say more about him?

Moviemakers! If you are reading this, please give a thought on crafting a great biopic dedicated to these Indian personalities!

Contemporary directors with original works in Hindi cinema (Part 2)

The first part of this article had great names in original filmmaking like Imitiaz Ali and Zoya Akhtar etc.

This is second list of directors with talented names that have raised the bar of quality cinema in India with original and creative projects.

Anand Gandhi - He changed the meaning of indie cinema by crafting his first feature film ' Ship of Theseus.' The movie with a philosophical theme of same name gave inspiration to experimental filmmakers. His first movie which was a short 'Right here right now' itself was a unique in terms of filmmaking as it seems to be made in single shot. The film also message of how compassion and aggression are contagious.

Amol Gupte - This director dedicates his movies to social issues revolving around Indian children. His directorial debut 'Stanley ka Dabba' focused on child labor. Both of his movies featured his son 'Partho Gupte' in the lead.

Raj Dk - Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. ( or Raj D.K.) are alumni of IIT and were the first to release full length feature film which was a zombie comedy titled ‘Go Goa Gone.’ Their debut release was an interesting crime comedy '99' which reflected the topics like match fixing and launch of mobile phone with the backdrop of year 1999. Their crime comedy drama 'Shor in the city' was a hyperlink film which was also inspired from local incidents appear in newspapers.

R Balki - An admaker turned director, Balki has experimented in his films. His first was based on relationship of an aged man with middle aged lady. It was not an inspiration of 'Lolita' or 'Nishabd' but a different take on this subject. His next flick was 'Paa' where a rare disease 'Progeria' was presented in light hearted manner with father-son relationship.
His third directorial venture 'Shamitabh' also was a concept representing a mute actor using another man's voice to become star in film industry. All his movies have some interesting storyline with peppy dialogues. Amitabh Bachhan remains central character in all of his movies.

Shoojit Sircar - Another quality filmmaker with original screenplays, Sircar has tried multiple genres. His first feature 'Yahaan' was a romantic war drama which was not much of a success. His next romantic comedy 'Vicky donor' was a big hit due to interesting representation of the subject of sperm donation.
Whether it is an espionage drama ‘Madras Café’ (based on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination) or light hearted movie ‘Piku,’ the director has managed to craft his work with total originality.

In case you find your favorite director missing from this list, this might be due to the fact he / she has directed movies from screenplay inspired from other films or book.

Contemporary directors with original works in Hindi cinema   (Part 1)  

Indian cinema is said to be inspired largely from the west. It also refines some of the existing plots with major themes like corruption or vengeance etc.

These Indian directors through their creative instinct are giving the Indian cinema valuable movies which are neither inspired by any written piece of literature nor are copied from any foreign film.

• Sriram Raghavan – He is the maven of the neo-noir thrillers in Indian cinema. Through his movies including Ek Hasina Thi, Johnny Gaddar and Badlapur, he was able to extract some intense performances from actors like Neil Nitin Mukesh, Urmila Matondkar and Varun Dhawan.
Though none of his movies proved to be blockbuster, most of them gained rave reviews from the critics and have done average to above average business.
                                   

 • Zoya Akhtar – She started her career with drama Luck By Chance which focused on Indian cinema in a satirical manner. It was followed by multi-starrer road film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara which not only introduced adventure sports from the Spanish world to the Indian masses but also gave a message on living the life to the fullest.
 Her upcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do is a drama based on dysfunctional Punjabi family and will release in 2015.
Other than keeping multiple actors in the form of ensemble casting or cameo appearances, actor Farhan Akhtar is always part of her projects.

                                       

 • Sudhir Mishra – He started as a screenwriter in critically acclaimed movies like Jaane Bhi Do yaaron and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho.
Most of his movies including Dharavi, Chameli, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi etc have artistic touch due to which his movies are less popular among the masses. Screenwriting of all his directorial ventures is also done by him.
                                         

 • Madhur Bhandarkar – His cinema focuses on the negative dimension of the various spheres of the Indian society. The titles of his movies are based on the theme of the movie itself like Traffic Signal, Page 3, Corporate and Fashion etc.
Most of the protagonists in his line of cinema are females except the film Jail where a male (played by Neil Nitin Mukesh) was the leading character.

                                     

 • Imtiaz Ali – India has a huge market for rom-coms most of which are either to too simple in nature or are inspired by some Hollywood work. This director makes sure that the concept and storyline of his romantic movies is not based on the clichés. Through his movie Rockstar, he gave a new taste to Indian audiences and himself was evolved as a director.
                                       

These directors make sure that we as Indians can be proud of artistic works created by these without any need of inspiration from existing array of films !