HINDI CINEMA WILL CONTINUE ITS LOVE AFFAIR WITH MOVIES BASED ON REAL PEOPLE IN 2020
FROM stories based on actual events and film remakes to recreating classic songs, Bollywood has been drawing inspiration from the past more than ever.
The most popular of the genre is high profile biopics that draw upon the lives of real people. That hot trend is set to continue with more big Bollywood blockbusters based on real people on the way.
With that in mind, here are some biopics to look out for from 2020.
Chhapaak:Bollywood queen Deepika Padukone returns to the big screen in the true-life tale based on acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. She has also produced the drama and transformed herself to portray a woman who went from a horrific tragedy to becoming an inspirational figure campaigning for acid attack victims.
Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior:Ajay Devgn produces and plays the lead role in his 100th movie, which is based on the life of a fearless 17th-century warrior, who helped lay the foundation for the Maratha Empire. The lavish historical film sees him portray an unsung hero who faithfully fought for a king and helped win a game-changing battle.
’83:India’s three biggest passions of cricket, cinema and patriotism come together in this big-budget sports drama based on a historic sporting triumph. Ranveer Singh plays Kapil Dev in the story of a great upset that saw underdogs India defeat hot favourite’s West Indies in the cricket world cup final.
Saina:The sports drama sees Parineeti Chopra portray ace badminton player Saina Nehwal. The Amole Gupte-directed film looks at the life of a sports hero who overcame personal challenges to win titles and reach number one in the world.
Maidaan:Ajay Devgn takes on the real life role of Syed Abdul Rahim, who was the football coach and manager of the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963. The uplifting sports drama revolves around India’s greatest achievements in football during a golden era for the game in the country.
Shershaah:Sidharth Malhotra plays Indian soldier Captain Vikram Batra and his twin Vishal Batra in the biographical drama. The story revolves around the army officer who was awarded India’s highest and most prestigious award for valour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan.
Shakuntala Devi – Human Computer:The biographical drama sees multi-award-winning actress Vidya Balan take on the title role in a film revolving around Shakuntala Devi, who was known as the human computer. The story looks at the life of a woman who shot to international fame because of her extraordinary abilities and the books she authored.
Sardar Udham Singh:Rapidly rising star Vicky Kaushal plays the title role in the biopic based on freedom fighter Udham Singh, who assassinated the former lieutenant governor of Punjab in India, Michael O’Dwyer, in 1940 in revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. The Shoojit Sircar-directed drama shot in the UK, Russia and India brings the life of a legendary revolutionary alive.
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl:The biographical drama revolves around Gunjan Saxena, who along with Srividya Rajan,was the first female Indian air force pilot, and the first in combat. Janhvi Kapoor plays the lead role in the Karan Johar produced film based on real life events.
Mogul:Aamir Khan takes on the challenging role of Bhushan Kumar in the big-budget biographical drama that is directed by Subhash Kapoor. The story traces the extraordinary rise of a music mogul who set up massively successful record label T-Series and then was murdered at a young age by the underworld.
Madhubala biopic: Last but not least, there have been rumours that director Imtiaz Ali will be making a biopic of legendary leading lady Madhubala, who was seen as the Indian answer to Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Like the Hollywood icon, she too had an extraordinary life, was a pin-up, and tragically died young.
The actor’s evolving style from youth to maturity getty images
Aamir Khan embracing vintage looks with classic charmgetty images
Bold and dramatic changes defining Aamir Khan’s careergetty images
From rugged to refined Aamir Khan’s versatile appearancesgetty images
Memorable film moments showcasing Aamir Khan’s unique stylegetty images
Aamir Khan’s blend of classic and contemporary fashiongetty images
Aamir Khan’s dedication to authentic character portrayals getty images
Cinematic milestones reflected in Aamir Khan’s on-screen imagegetty images
A seated Jain enlightened teacherAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Ganesha from JavaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Chinese silk painting depicting the BuddhaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
ArdhanarishvaraAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Head of a grimacing yakshaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
NagaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Bimaran casketAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hunia Chawla
A still from rehearsal
Them performing liveNajmuddin Saifuddin Qawwal Group
The cast of Marriage Material in key moments from the play, including Avita Jay, Kiran Landa, Omar Malik, Irfan Shamji and Anoushka Deshmukh
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity
The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013.
She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton. Their younger daughter, Surinder (Anoushka Deshmukh), is 16, her sister Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) is just a bit older.
They have a neighbour, Patwant Dhanda (Irfan Shamji), who, as we shall soon see, is not a very pleasant man. In fact, he comes across just as racist as Enoch Powell, who represented Wolverhampton South West for the Tories from 1950 to 1974.
It will be recalled this was a time when Sikhs working on the buses were told they couldn’t wear a turban. That was a hard-fought battle that had to be won.
The Bains, meanwhile, simply want to get their girls married off.
Nothing new here, I thought.
What makes the tale different is that the plot twists and turns down the generations. Mr Dhanda, who has the makings of a paedophile, makes a pitch for one of the girls when Mr Bains dies early in the play. “A life with no man in the house is no life,” he informs the newly widowed Mrs Bains.
Mr Dhanda has a wife but she has returned to India so he considers himself to be a free man.
Surinder’s English teacher from school, Miss Flanagan (Celeste Dodwell), who is also head of the fifth form, tells Mrs Bains about her daughter: “I don’t want to embarrass you, but she is bright. Ridiculously bright.”
She adds: “Mrs Bains, I think it would be a pity if Surinder didn’t stay on at school.” The initial response from Mrs Bains is not encouraging: “Too much education makes people’s brains get mixed up, they don’t sleep at night…”
But she is finally persuaded that Surinder should be allowed to stay on for a while longer before being married off.
Mr Bains was very old school. When Surinder confides she would one day like to be “a somebody”, he is amused that “my daughter wants to be a somebody”.
“Like you,” she tells her father.
Mr Bains consoles his daughter: “We will find a somebody for you to marry.”
At the point of a possible marriage, however, Surinder is sweet-talked by chocolate salesman Jim Wilson (Tommy Belshaw) into running away with him. They share a love of literature, and he calls her “Sue Bains”. But the relationship does not end well.
Once she has left, Surinder is written off as “dead” by her family. The story that is circulated is that she was only 16 when she was killed in a car crash. That’s better than to let on that she ran off with a white man.
By the time she is reconciled with her sister towards the end of the play, a great deal has changed. Kamaljit married Tanvir Banga (Omar Malik), a young man who helped out in the Bains’ corner shop. When the two sisters meet again, Tanvir has also died. But he and Kamaljit had a son, Arjan Banga (Jaz Singh Deol doubles up for this role after the death of Mr Bains). He has come home after his father’s death to help his mother who is still running the family corner shop.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhanda’s business has prospered. He now has a son, Ranjit Dhanda (the role is taken by Omar Malik after Tanvir’s death), and he is nearly as unpleasant as his father.
Arjan has an English fiancée, Claire (Celeste Dodwell). In London, Arjan worked as a creative director. But after deciding to stay in Wolverhampton to help his mother, he decides he cannot marry Claire because she is white. In other words, Asians are not free of racism, either. Happily, at the end, the couple are reconciled.
As for Surinder, she parted company with Jim Wilson after realising he was all talk, depended on her for money and had failed to earn a penny from his literary pretensions. She had prospered, though, as a hotel owner and had been transformed in time into a well-groomed businesswoman. After being tracked down by Arjan, she decides to return to her roots in Wolverhampton and help Kamaljit run the family corner shop. Perhaps 50 years had passed during the passage of the play.
Being subjected to racism turned some Asians into racists themselves. The word goreh (white person) is repeatedly spat out with venom. Maybe it is worth remembering the play’s audience isn’t exclusively Asian – white folk are watching as well. And maybe some of the toilet humour ridiculing white people, which always makes me cringe, could be cut out.
In Sanghera’s novel, there is a quote from Enoch Powell’s speech in November 1968: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact, he is a west Indian or an Asian still... he will by the very nature of things have lost one country without gaining another, lost one nationality without acquiring a new one. Time is running out against us and them. With the lapse of a generation or so we shall at last have succeeded – to the benefit of nobody – in reproducing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ the haunting tragedy of the US.”
In Marriage Material, where the acting is marvellous (apart from Mr Dhanda’s Indian mannerisms and accent being overdone) we do travel across a couple of generations.
There is a scene when Tanvir rejects Mr Dhanda’s vision of creating a little Punjab in Wolverhampton.
Mr Dhanda wants to take over the Bains’ corner shop and is putting pressure on Tanvir to sign the papers. He says: “In this country, money is the path to freedom.”
“Sign, please,” he instructs Tanvir. “We must make sure our children learn to behave nicely, according to our rules.”
He insists: “We maintain our identity so we can be ourselves.”
Tanvir disagrees: “We can be us here. With the goreh.”
Dhanda warns him: “Then we will be inviting chaos.”
Tanvir’s comment is telling: “You sound like Enoch.”
Kamaljit, who is expecting a baby with her husband Tanvir, says: “I would like my child to grow up knowing the history of the Gurus and to read the Granth Sahib. And to love their culture.”
Tanvir tells his wife: “I would like my child to go to the finest schools, to cheer for England in the World Cup and eat Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday.”
Kamaljit sets out a dream that has perhaps come to pass with many third and fourth generation British Asians: “Maybe our child can do both.” Much, much later, in a throwback to the past, we learn of Surinder’s O-level results: “Biology A, Chemistry A, English Language A, English Literature A, French A, History B, Latin A, Mathematics A, Physics A…”
Kamaljit tells her younger sister: “Never mind about the B.”
And that is quintessentially Asian. Their acting is outstanding.
Marriage Material is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, and at the Birmingham Rep from June 25-July 5