As a couple of biopics on the lives of stars, including the ones on Guru Dutt and Madhubala, are in the pipeline, experts say it is important to showcase the human angle

Mona

Cinephiles are in for a treat, as a couple of biopics that celebrate big stars of the screen are due soon. Ranbir Kapoor recently talked about him working on legendary singer-actor Kishore Kumar’s biopic for the last 11 years; ‘Tragedy Queen’ Meena Kumari’s life is due for a cinematic outing; Madhur Brij Bhushan, younger sister of the ‘Venus Queen of Bollywood’ Madhubala, is working on the biopic of the legendary actress.

Famous actor-director Guru Dutt’s biopic too has been in the making for a while. While biopics have seen much success in Bollywood with films like M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Neerja, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Raazi; there have only been a handful of films on actors, including Sanju, Shakeela, The Dirty Picture and Thalaivii in the recent times. An ode, hero worship or a tribute, we speak to filmmakers on star biopics in the pipeline.

Author Ashwini Bhatnagar turns creative producer as his biography of actress Meena Kumari, titled Starring Mehjabeen as Meena Kumari, gets set for screen adaptation, both as a film and a web series. It is one among his five books that are due for screen adaptations. “Stars drive popular imagination, while an actor’s life pan outs in public eye; what’s available is only bits and parts. It’s not the comprehensive story,” shares Bhatnagar.

Bhatnagar insists that his is an attempt to bring different shades of the intense life that the Pakeezah actress lived, “My writing is journalistic, objective and one sees as much about her fame as her vulnerabilities.” Scripting complete, the project is in the casting stage, and while Bhatnagar wouldn’t talk about actresses shortlisted, he shares, “While it’s only good if one can find some physical resemblance, it’s more important to carry her sensibility.”

Slice of real life

Director Simerjit Singh, who helmed Punjabi biographical war film Subedar Joginder Singh, is currently working on two more biographical projects — one a cop story another a spy saga. “Fiction has ruled the screens for long, but lately it is real life stories that have caught audiences’ attention. Among his favourite biopics is Sanju, “Sanjay Dutt’s life was full of twists and turns, and the film captures that beautifully.”

About Sanju, Bhatnagar opines, “I found it to be a caricature, an apology of the sorts.” Writer-director Ranjan Chandel too points out that many a biopics are but glorified episodes from Wikipedia pages. “An actor’s biopic only makes sense if the maker dives deep into the life and times of a particular star. Among these, The Dirty Picture holds some merit. For a biopic to work, the maker has to bring about the humane angle to the lives of the stars,” says the Grahan director. “I am looking forward to Guru Dutt and Madhubala biopics. Among the current stars, I am much interested in Salman Khan’s life,” he adds.

Space & scope

Director-writer Pankaj Dubey says, “There is both space and scope for actors’ life to be adapted on to the silver screen.” Happy to have catapulted from an author to director, Dubey adds, “Great actor Amitabh Bachchan is a living legend, so his life should be portrayed on screen. He has always risen like a phoenix. Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s success with Pathaan after four years tells an interesting story. His popularity has only risen over the years and this can be preserved through films.”