10 Must Watch Indian Biopics
There are many Indian biopics which are “must” watch. Here are my ‘Top 10 must watch’ Indian Biopics as follows
- Bandit Queen(1994)
Director-Shekhar Kapur
Writer-Ranjit Kapur & Mala Sen
Cast- Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Aditya Srivastav, Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj rao, Saurabh Shukla, Raghuvir Yadav, Govind Namdeo.
The biopic was based on the life of Phoolan Devi as mentioned in the book India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi by the Indian author Mala Sen. The Movie tells the story about Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi, who was sent to jail in 1983 for being a goon. The journey of Phoolan Devi was totally heart-wrecking.
According to me, one should watch this masterpiece for Seema Biswas, her performance is moving.
This is a story of a woman who fought for herself going against the Indian Society.
2. Paan Singh Tomar (2012)
Director- Tigmanshu Dhulia
Writer- Tigmanshu Dhulia & Sanjay Chauhan
Cast- Irfaan Khan, Mahi Gill, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vipin Sharma, Zakir Hussain, Rajendra Gupta, Brijendra Kala, Paras Arora, Imran Hasnee.
The movies is about the most feared dacoit in Chambal, but only aboy dacoit, he was an athlete and seven-time national steeplechase champion. His life goes up & down from celebrated star brigand to become a rebel when life fails to unfold as planned. The movie collected ₹30 million (US$420,000) in its third week and was declared a semi-hit by Box Office India.
I highly recommend this movie because it’s relatable. We all are facing this in our life that nothing goes according to our plan, and then we choose to fight against the obstacle.
3. Budhia Singh (2016)
Director- Soumendra Padhi
Writer- Soumendra Padhi
Cast- Manoj Bajpayee, Mayur Patole , Gajraj Rao, Shruti Marathe
It is based on the life of Budhia Singh, world’s youngest marathon runner, who ran 48 marathons, when he was only five years old.
I Loved this biopic not because its a movie about a child who run for his life but also the relationship between Mr. Das (coach) & Budhia Singh are incredible. Most of the time, one might feel that Das’s intention & ideology is unacceptable. Director had done a good job.
4. Sarabjit (2016)
Director- Omung Kumar
Writer- Utkarshini Vashishtha, Rajesh Beri
Cast- Randeep Hooda, Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, Richa Chadda, Darshan Kumar, Ankur Bhatia.
It’s a biopic of an Indian man who was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1991 and who consequently spent 22 years in prison for alleged terrorism and spying.
If i have to describe this biopic in one word, its “heart-wrecking”. I almost cried in many scenes. Randeep Hooda is marvellous actor & his performance is beyond performance. This biopic gives you mixed emotions.
5. Aligarh (2015)
Director- Hansal Mehta
Writer- Apurva Asrani
Cast- Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkumar Rao, Ashish Vidhyarthi.
Aligarh is about the Professor of the University of Aligarh, who was sacked from his work under the ground of molesting morality.
There is no doubt on the performance of Manoj Bajpayee, he is one who lives all his characters thoroughly. I recommend this one because, in our society , we are still answerable to our every action. This biopic is about the rights of an individual on personal ground. Aligarh will leave you with so many questions.
6. The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
Director- Rajkumar Santoshi
Writer- Rajkumar Santoshi, Piyush Mishra, Anjum Rajabali
Cast- Ajay Devgan, Sushant Singh, D. Santosh, Akhilendra Mishra, Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal, Amrita Rao, Mukesh Tiwari, Saurabh Dubey, Sitaram Panchal, Bhaswar Chatterjee.
The film is about Bhagat Singh, a Socialist revolutionary who fought for Independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Republic Association
According to me, The legend of Bhagat Singh is a well made biopic. The energy of this movie is at a different level. There are many biopics which are
based on the period of Independence, but this biopic is a must watch for the directorial treatment & also for the performances.
7. Manto (2018)
Director- Nandita Das
Writer- Nandita Das
Cast- Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Duggal.
Manto is a biopic of famous Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto & is set in 1940s India.
Nawazuddin’s performance is a treat for this biopic. I truly relate to Manto, because he fought for the right to write. In the world, where being progessive is sin, he fights for his progressive writing. Even in the current situation, one has to fight for their rights at their level. About the picturisation, you will feel that you are living in that era. It is one of the best biopics which was made in the era of independence.
8. Shahid (2013)
Director- Hansal Mehta
Writer- Sameer Gautam Singh
Cast- Rajkumar Rao, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kay Kay Menon, Prabhal Panjabi, Prableen Sandhu.
It is based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010. There is no doubt that we have Rajkumar Rao for such characters to play. He did justice to the character & Director has done a great job. A lot of learning is involved & one might feel that we all need to take a stand for Shahid. I have loved the Cinematography, its cinematic & realistic too.
9. Guru (2007)
Director- Mani Ratnam
Writer- Mani Ratnam, Vijay Krishna Acharya
Cast- Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Mithun Chakarborty, Arjan Bajwa.
This film is largely based on the life of one of India’s biggest industrial tycoons, Dhrubhai Ambani, but also has elements of other stories and businessmen.It’s a must watch biopic, it’s not only inspirational and motivational but also teaches you to deal with life smartly & cleverly. The screenplay is moving & engaging. And the directorial treatment is exceptional.
10. Manjhi (2015)
Director- Ketan Mehta
Writer- Ketan Mehta
Cast- Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte
Manjhi, widely known as the “Mountain Man”, was a poor labourer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India, who carved a path 9.1 metres (30 ft) wide and 110 metres (360 ft) long through a hill 7.6 metres (25 ft) high, using only a hammer and chisel.
According to me, it’s a biopic of all those people who are fighting against the Manjhi, widely known as the “Mountain Man”, was a poor labourer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India, who carved a path 9.1 metres (30 ft) wide and 110 metres (360 ft) long through a hill 7.6 metres (25 ft) high, using only a hammer and chisel.
According to me, it’s a biopic of all those people who are fighting against the system. We all are in the system where we keep on cribbing , but Manjhi took a stand & started working on the problem on his own.
All above the mentioned biopics are the movies which i recommend, but there are numerous Indian biopics