Politician on the big screen.
Bollywood films inspired from real life stories
Of politician in India
By-Farhan mazid
Recently, the much-awaited film on late actor-politician Jayalalithaa's life Thalaivi starring Kangana Ranaut released in theaters garnering positive reviews, especially from the southern part of the country where Jayalalithaa hailed from.
There is a thing about biographical movies. The real stories of politicians, sportspersons or anyone successful in their respective fields draw the audience to the screens out of curiosity. We look at Bollywood films inspired from real life stories of politicians in India.
Thackeray
Abhijit Panse's 2019 film Thackeray was based on Balasaheb Thackeray's life. A cartoonist by profession, he founded the party Shiv Sena in 1966. Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the protagonist as Amrita Rao played his wife. The right-wing pro-Marathi party and Hindu nationalist party remains active in Maharashtra and is currently in power. Thackeray had a strong influence over Maharashtrians, especially in Mumbai as he advocated for their rights. He initially worked as a cartoonist with Free Press Journal and later started his own cartoon weekly Marmik with his brother. After the success of Marmik, he started his own party named Shiv Sena.
Sardar
The 1994 film by Ketan Mehta, Sardar starring Paresh Rawal, was based on the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The film is a coming-of-age drama as it shows Patel ridiculing Gandhi's fight for independence. But later when he meets Gandhi, he joins the struggle for independence. Patel later went on to become the first deputy prime minister of India. He was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a barrister. He was often called 'Sardar' or 'chief'. He was the home minister of India during the Indian political integration and the Indo-Pak war of 1947.
An Insignificant Man
The 2016 socio-political documentary is based on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the head of Aam Aadmi Party. It is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India that led to the formation of AAP. The film received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival. A former bureaucrat, Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for Emergent Leadership for his campaign against government corruption. Before becoming a politician, Kejriwal worked in the Indian Revenue Service as a joint commissioner of income tax in New Delhi.
Sarkar
The Sarkar film series—Sarkar, Sarkar Raj and Sarkar 3—are said to be inspired by The Godfather and loosely based on politician Balasaheb Thackeray's life. Amitabh Bachchan's role as Sarkar is said to have several traits of Thackeray. Abhishek Bachchan plays Amitabh's son in the film. Ram Gopal Varma's film also stars Katrina Kaif, Kay Kay Menon, Tanisha Mukherjee and Supriya Pathak in prominent roles.
Aandhi
The 1975 political drama was said to be loosely based on former Indian PM Indira Gandhi's life. However, it was later declared that only the character's style was inspired from Gandhi. Directed by Gulzar, the film stars Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar. The story is based on the chance meeting of an estranged couple after several years. Aarti Devi, a successful politician, happens to stay at a hotel run by her former husband during an election campaign. During her stay, both reminisce about their past days and how life moved on.
Thalaivi
The 2021 Indian biographical drama stars Kangana Ranaut as late actor-politician Jayalalithaa. It stars Arvind Swami as MG Ramachandran. The film released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu and was directed by AL Vijay. The film tracks Jayalalithaa's journey as an actor, a politician and as a feminist figure in Indian politics. She became Tamil Nadu CM for six terms and served a total of 14 years.
Gandhi, My Father
The 2007 film by Feroz Abbas Khan explores the troubled relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his eldest of the four sons—Harilal Gandhi. Akshaye Khanna portrayed the role of Gandhi's eldest son. While Harilal wanted to go abroad and study to become a barrister like his father, Gandhi wanted him to join him in his fight for causes in India. Harilal abandons his father's visions and joins his wife Gulab and children but fails to educate himself or make money, leading to a life in poverty. His wife dies of sickness and he takes to alcohol, converts to Islam, only to convert back to a different Hindu sect later. He passes away shortly after Gandhi was shot to death.
Accidental Prime Minister
The 2019 film was based on the book The Accidental Prime Minister written by political analyst Sanjaya Baru. It starred Anupam Kher as then PM Manmohan Singh. The film chronicles how Singh fell victim to Congress' dynamic approach in promoting Rahul Gandhi. Akshaye Khanna portrayed the role of Sanjaya Baru, Aahana Kumra played Priyanka Gandhi and Suzanne Bernert donned the character of Sonia Gandhi.