2018 has been a path-breaking year when it comes to Bollywood. Taking some lessons from the mega-hit ‘Baahubali’ franchise, many filmmakers have decided to take a step forward in terms of giving a meaningful narrative to Indian cinema, even if it made a section of intellectuals unhappy, owing to the unapologetic content. It wasn’t that horrible movies weren’t made; it was just that the good movies outdid the horrible ones in terms of entertaining the masses and changing the narrative of Indian cinema.
As 2019 beckons us, we are being promised a lot of biopics that are not only unapologetic, but also attempt to brush off the dust from some pages of Indian history which are still unknown to the masses, or carefully hidden from them. A large chunk of them is being released well within the first five months of 2019 itself. While the list is quite large, here are some of the most promising biopics that are all set to be served to the audiences in 2019:-
The Accidental Prime Minister:-
Can a movie trailer become a living nightmare for the entire left-liberal ecosystem? Looks like ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ has achieved that exact parameter. All set to be released on 11 January 2019, the movie is based on the book of the same name and covers the tumultuous tenure of Dr. Manmohan Singh as the PM of the Congress-led UPA alliance, and his equation with the Nehru Gandhi dynasty.
The movie is told from the viewpoint of Sanjaya Baru, who was the ex-media advisor to PM Manmohan Singh for the first tenure of UPA. The film has received brickbats by left liberals for being unapologetic in their portrayal of the Nehru Gandhi dynasty and their sycophants that called the shots during the UPA tenure. As Chanakya said once, ‘If the crooks and the dishonest cry hoarse about the administration, your king is doing something really good.’
72 Hours:-
Remember Jaswant Singh Rawat? Like Baba Harbhajan Singh, Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat is another soldier who is said to guard our borders even 56 years after his untimely demise. His enigmatic tale of how he fooled the Chinese despite being the only soldier left alive in his company of soldiers from Garhwal Rifles is something that must be told to the entire nation.
In a country, where shady people like Abdul Latif, Sanjay Dutt, Haseena Parkar etc. are eulogized by mainstream Bollywood to nauseating levels, it is heartening that there are independent filmmakers like Avinash Dhyani, who are ready to bring the tales of our unsung heroes to the silver screen, irrespective of the challenges one might face.
Thackeray:-
Directed by Abhijit Panse, and produced by controversial Shiv Sena politician, this is the first attempt to portray the life of unapologetic Hindu nationalist Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray on the silver screen. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the titular role, the trailer of the movie like ‘Balasaheb Thackeray’ has irked the left liberals, who are stung by the devotion to the titular character as shown by Nawazuddin. The way that Nawazuddin has done justice to the fiery nationalist that Balasaheb was in real life hasn’t gone down well with the liberals, who see him as an eyesore to their plans of brainwashing India.
No wonder why aspiring sycophants like Swara Bhaskar, Siddharth Narayan, and Richa Chadha are going hammer and tongs after both the movie and Nawazuddin in order to please their masters, already in shock with the savage tone of movies likes ‘Uri’ and ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’.
Manikarnika:-
This is another biopic that has irked the left liberals, though they are quite tight-lipped about their anger owing to the response that they would receive from the co-director Kangana Ranaut. Having taken over the project after the original director, Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi aka Krish shifted his attention to another biopic franchise on the famous NTR; Kangana has nailed it in the trailer as the legendary queen of Jhansi.
Kangana has ensured that she looks convincing as Rani Lakshmi Bai, and we expect more as the film hits the theaters on 25 January.
Rocketry:-
Also, if the news of ‘The Tashkent Files’ release before the 2019 elections wasn’t enough horrifying, Madhavan has decided to give a living nightmare to the Congress with his trilingual biopic ‘Rocketry’. Based on the tumultuous life of S Nambi Narayanan, the famous ISRO scientist who was wrongly imprisoned on espionage charges by the Congress party, then ruling Kerala, ‘Rocketry’ will depict the losses suffered by the nation in the field of space technology as a result of the unjust incarceration of the far-sighted scientist.
Co-directed by famous filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan ‘Rocketry’ is an attempt to give the scientist his due respect in the Indian society. Given how aghast is Congress just by the trailer of ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, it would be interesting to know if Congress can survive enough to endure the attack of movies like ‘Rocketry’. Besides, we haven’t even begun on ‘The Tashkent Files’.
Tanaji: The Unsung Warrior –
It looks like Ajay Devgn has taken it upon himself to restore the legacy of the unsung Indian heroes despite being a member of the much hated elite Bollywood. Having confirmed his roles in biopics on Acharya Chanakya, football coach Syed Abdul Rahim etc., Ajay Devgn is all set to bring to life the tale of Subedar Tanaji Malusare, who won the Battle of Simhagad against the Mughals even to the peril of his life.
Starring Ajay in the titular role, apart from Saif Ali Khan as the Mughal loyalist Uday Bhan Rathod, we hope this film restores the legacy of the courageous Marathas in the true spirit, and not mock them as Sanjay Leela Bhansali did in ‘Bajirao Mastani.
Biopics on PM Modi:-
However, one of the most promising biopics is the duo of biopics that will cover the life of present PM Narendra Modi. While one biopic is having famous actor cum parliamentarian Paresh Rawal in the lead role, another biopic is having Vivek Oberoi in the role of the iconic PM. It’ll be interesting to see which one gives a fitting tribute to PM Modi. For now, we know one thing for sure: 2019 is anything but drab.