If there is any freedom fighter whose biopic has been made umpteen times, it is India’s youngest martyr, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who created havoc in the British empire and sacrificed his life for Bharatmata in the ’20s.
The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Story on Screen
Thus, decade after decade Bollywood has saluted this brave son of India. Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat 1)Singh (1954) starring Prem Abid
2)Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1963) starring Shammi Kapoor
3) Shaheed (1965) starring Manoj Kumar
4) Shaheed-E-Azam (2002) starring Sonu Sood
5) The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) starring Ajay Devgn
6) 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) starring Bobby Deol
7) Rang De Basanti (2006) featuring Siddharth Narayan as Bhagat Singh.
India has produced many films on Mahatma Gandhi, but the best one is arguably Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982) starring Ben Kingsley. Despite being a Hollywood production, it had Indian ties – Ben Kingsley has Indian origins and India’s NFDC partially funded the film. Notable Indian films on Gandhi include Shyam Benegal’s The Making of the Mahatma and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), which promotes Gandhian ideology. Gandhi My Father (2007) explores Mahatma Gandhi’s family life.
After Ben Kingsley, the only Indian actor who played Mahtma Gandhi to perfection is Naseeruddin Shah in Kamal Haasan’s film Hey Ram. Interestingly, few may be aware that Naseeruddin Shah was the original choice for Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. Richard Attenborough declined Naseer’s audition, opting for a British actor who could connect with a foreign audience instead.
Bollywood’s Fascination with Bhagat Singh
Filmmaker Ketan Mehta in 1993 made a good biopic on the iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Paresh Rawal suited the character to a perfect T. South superstar Mammootty played the role of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000) in the film by the same name. Jabbar Patel, a renowned Marathi film director, directed the film. The filmmakers originally shot it in English and later dubbed it into several Indian languages.
Shyam Benegal‘s (2004) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero, starring Marathi film star Sachin Khedekar, was a gripping biopic. Rajkummar Rao recently played Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a TV serial, Bose: Dead or Alive (2017).
In 2005, Aamir Khan played freedom fighter Mangal Pandey in the film Mangal Pandey: The Rising. Though the film was well made, it failed to succeed at the box office. Shyam Benegal’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004) is a gripping biopic starring Sachin Khedekar. Rajkummar Rao later portrayed Netaji in the TV serial Bose: Dead or Alive (2017).
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