Why don’t we have more biopics in Bollywood?

UTTAM MUKHERJEE talks with Prof. Rachel Dwyer, a UK academic and film expert

It is slated to release in December this year, but the promos for Vidya Balan starrer Dirty Picture are already doing the rounds – and causing some discussion. Not only does it have a title that rankles, this Ekta Kapoor film is being talked about for the many cuts that the conservative Censor Board has demanded

Described as Vidya Balan’s “boldest” role yet, for which she put on oodles of weight and shed her ‘girl-next-door’ image, the film is said to be based on the life of curvy southern bombshell Silk Smitha, who rose to fame in the 1980s with her ‘bad girl’ image. She took her own life in 1996, aged 36.

The film is also unusual because it belongs to a genre not so common in Bollywood – the biopic.

And this very notion, was the subject of a very interesting lecture delivered recently in Sydney, so far from Bollywood.

Externalities can be deceptive. When I heard that a Professor Rachel Dwyer from the University of London was giving a talk on Indian cinema, I was a bit sceptical. Nevertheless, on September 15, I made my way to the ‘Sydney Ideas’ talk at the Law School Lecture Theatre at the University of Sydney. The hall filled up quickly with a diverse audience, as Prof Dwyer presented her paper titled The New Biopic in Hindi Cinema.

The presenter began with an impressive introduction. Rachel Dwyer is Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She has published ten books including Beyond the Boundaries of Bollywood: The Many Forms of Hindi Cinema, co-edited with Jerry Pinto (2011); a book on Yash Chopra, and she is currently writing Bollywood’s India: Indian Cinema as a Guide to Modern India.

Biopic classification

Prof. Dwyer started with a thought-provoking fact that there is a relatively low production of biopics in Indian cinema, only around 5 percent. Biopic stands for biographical pictures, and although many were planned in the last decade, only a few were produced. She compared Hollywood biopics with Indian ones by classing them as a part of other genres, notably the historical, mythological and the devotional. One outstanding devotional biopic was Sant Tukaram. It is a classic film that chronicles the life of Tukaram (17th century), one of Maharashtra’s most popular saint poets. Then there are biopics that draw inspiration from the nationalist movement against colonial rule or where the nation is at a crisis.

Fact or fiction?

Mainstream cinema has generally relied on hearsay, gossip and folklore to tell biographical stories, and there has been less reliance on authentic records and facts. Prof Dwyer stated that one of the true biopics of yesteryears was V Shantaram’s Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani. The film was based on a story And One Did Not Come Back, by KA Abbas. The story is about a young Dr. Kotnis who was sent to China during the WW-II to provide medical assistance to troops fighting against the Japanese. While in China he met and courted a Chinese girl. His main triumph was curing a virulent plague, but later he succumbed to the plague himself.

Attention was drawn to two other notable biopic works. Both were made by Guru Dutt: Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool. Rachel contended that Pyaasa was either based on the lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi or Guru Dutt’s own life. Kagaz Ke Phool, considered too personal and dark at the time of its release bombed at the box office, but is now considered a classic. On a similar note, Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker was semi-biographical and considered too private. Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika told the story of movie actresses and the life choices that they have to make.

A tough task

Making a biopic in India throws up a few challenges. Hindi cinema in particular has specific requirements of structure, time, space and reality. The stories are alienated from history to fit into the specific requirements of Hindi cinema. Thus, facts may be subsumed for the bizarre to narrate the story interestingly. In addition, casting becomes a problem as films are heavily star-based. Stars loom larger than the characters they portray, leading to a hackneyed outcome. Dialogues can be added to spice up well-known famous lines. Lastly, there is no single genre for biopics as Hindi cinema mixes a few of them.

Audience acceptance

Prof. Dwyer had her pulse on the rapid changes that have taken place in India particularly in the post liberation phase. This has given rise to a new audience and a new stream of producers. With the ever-growing educated and affluent middle class, there is a surge in nationalist feeling. This has also meant the rise of Bollywood, she observed, as patrons are frequenting the cinemas more than before. Multiplexes have meant that there are a variety of movies, including arthouse and international, being shown. In particular, Dwyer noted, the films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Hum Aapke Hai Kaun have been the watershed in Bollywood’s history, and have brought back the audience to the theatres.

So how did she get interested in Indian cinema?

“I’ve watched Indian arthouse cinema since it was first available to me in the 1980s,” Prof. Dwyer told Indian Link.  “At that time Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen films were shown at cinema halls in the UK.  I knew of Hindi films but found them too strange until 1989 when I started to watch them as I loved the songs, which I had seen on Nasreen Munni Kabir’s Movie Mahal, and I thought it was a good way to learn Hindi.  I liked Maine Pyar Kiya and Chandni, and was soon hooked”.

And which films would make up her top five favourite Indian movies (all languages)?

“I’ve written a book 100 Bollywood films, so I like all of them, including Apur Sansar, Sant Tukaram, Deewaar, Pyaasa, Mughal-e Azam. And if I could have five more, they would be Lage Raho Munnabhai, Awaara, Pakeezah, Amar Akbar Anthony and Iruvar”.

History and heroes…

Prof Dwyer also analysed a few modern day biopics in her talk: Asoka, Rang De Basanti, Mangal Pandey – The Rising, Jodha Akbar and Guru. She showed King Asoka dancing and singing to prove her point that the audience’s perception of Asoka as a virtuous and dignified ruler did not match what was depicted. Hence the film failed at the box office. For Jodha Akbar, she drew references from yesteryear hit, Mughal-e-Azam. The story of Akbar can be referenced from many authentic sources, for example Akbarnama.

Bhagat Singh is a very popular figure and Rang De Basanti utilised his story to the hilt. It added a new dimension through depicting New India issues such as corruption.

Dwyer dealt at length with Mani Ratnam’s Guru, based on a modern day figure, Dhirubhai Ambani. She felt that Mani had done very well to blend the real life hero with gigantic themes of modern India, the conflict of the old and nostalgic versus the new and changing values and morals. The camera work elevated the rags-to-riches story to a new level. She drew similarity between the movie’s tagline and Ambani’s words.

…and a few villians!

Prof. Dwyer also spoke about semi-biopics on modern day figures, eg Bombay’s underworld don, Varadarajan Mudaliar in Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan; another don, Dawood Ibrahim in Gopal Verma’s Company, and three chief ministers in Iruvar. On TV production, Dwyer lamented that there was not much except for one notable production, Mirza Ghalib. This was made by Gulzar, one of Indian cinema’s most sensitive and creative directors. On the subject of sports biopics, she briefly mentioned Chak De India.

The lecture ended with the future of biopics. A big banner film is currently in production on the tragedy surrounding popular South Indian actress, Silk Smitha (Dirty Picture starring Vidya Balan). Another movie scheduled for release is based on the life of the legendary painter, Raja Ravi Varma. Fielding a question from the audience on sports biopics, she thought that Tendulkar would not be an interesting film subject as he leads a simple and uncontroversial life; however, she noted, someone like Ganguly or Pataudi could be an interesting subject.

Overall, Prof Rachel Dwyer (www.racheldwyer.com/) made a positive impression on the audience with her in-depth knowledge of Indian cinema and culture, as well as the ease with which she delivered her paper.

With movies began biopics

After listening to Prof. Rachel Dwyer, I reflected on the subject. In fact, biopics in Indian cinema have been around since the first Indian movies. The first Indian feature film, Raja Harischandra, was directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. The film revolves around the noble and righteous king, Harishchandra, who first sacrifices his kingdom, followed by his wife and eventually his children, to honour his promise to the sage Vishwamitra.

The topic of biopics is incomplete without a mention of the great thespian, Sohrab Modi. His last work, Meena Kumari ki Amar Kahani is a good example of a biopic based on a screen idol. Under his banner of Minerva Movietone, he became famous for the historical trilogy: Pukar, that depicted Mughal Emperor Jehangir’s fair sense of justice based on an incident, perhaps fictional; Sikander, based on King Alexander and immortalised by Privithiraj Kapoor’s sterling performance of the lead role; and Prithvi Vallabh, about a haughty queen Mrinalvati. In all these, Modi made the most of his gift for grandiloquence to evoke the historical grandeur of those times. Later he made Jhansi Ki Rani, India’s first technicolour film followed by Mirza Ghalib. Many seniors who have grown up watching his films admit that their knowledge of history was at times, shaped by Modi’s films.

Sustaining the subject

In the 1960s, Lekh Tandon made Amrapali, a movie based on King Ajatshatru and a royal courtesan. It was India’s submission to the Academy Awards. Later, Gandhi won the Oscars but was made by a non-Indian, Richard Attenborough. But Shyam Benegal’s attempt, The Making Of the Mahatma in 1996 was a masterpiece in its own right. It was based on Gandhi’s early life in South Africa and his fight against injustice. Although there are similarities, the two must be watched in their own context.

Two larger than life Indian heroes have been brought to screen in the recent past: Shyam Bengal’s Bose: The Forgotten Hero in 2005 and Jabbar Patel’s Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in 2000. Both these films did not live up to their expectations, either with the critics or at the box office.

Bhagat Singh is a well known icon that has been revisited time and again. While the recent Rang De Basanti was well made, S. Ram Sharma’s Shaheed (1965), played by ‘Mr Bharat’ Manoj Kumar, was a hallmark. With its immortal songs, Mera rang de basanti chola, Aye watan aye watan and Sarfaroshi ki tamanna, the movie touched the hearts of one and all.

Biopics in Indian cinema have been around since the making of the first feature film, Raja Harischandra, and they have a future too, as some biopics are in the pipeline. However, considering India’s rich heritage, its long and colourful history and the number of films churned out each year by the film industry, it would be fair to expect a much larger quantity and better quality of biopics from our film-makers. Is Bollywood listening?