'Guru' of Inspiration
The release of ‘Guru’ has sparked a rehashed debate in the media. It’s all about biopics. It’s old hat now that ‘Guru’ is based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani (though none acknowledges it for different reasons). One of the allegations about ‘Guru’ was that it either justifies the corrupt acts of the protagonist or sweeps them under the carpet without addressing them. This applies to all the movies made on Indian personalities by Indians. I'm not trying to review 'Guru' as a movie here and I don't intend to either (again, I don't think Mani is a great film maker).
The cult of hero-worship might take centuries to leave the Indian shores. Any supposed misrepresentation of almost any leader (especially political; it could even be a movie star, if it’s in the South of the Vindhyas) could result in riots, violence and deaths. The recent case in point is the vandalisation of an Ambedkar statue. In such a society can a biopic true to the person’s life be made? I really doubt.
The ONLY biopic that has been a hit in the country was ‘Gandhi’. No other movie has been a hit made on a contemporary Indian – be it Nehru, Sardar, Ambedkar or Bose. Motion pictures based on other freedom fighters (more legendary than historical) like Mangal Pandey (Mangled Pandey?) or Bhagat Singh have bitten the dust.
Indians adore the special status their leaders enjoy. Leaders are legends. Leaders leave behind their legends. They are never mere mortals. Either in life or death. They can do no wrong. Any attempt to ‘humanise’ (a strange term indeed to describe most of the Indian leaders) would surely meet a catastrophic end.
You can make movies ‘based on’ or ‘inspired’ by living, dead or immortal legends (like Bal Thackeray, Parveen Babi, Indira Gandhi or even Sonia Gandhi). You’ll have crowds thronging to the theatres and soon your movie would be a super-hit. But don’t ever mess with the legends by making a movie on them directly. Indians love legends and the halo around them. Don’t demystify. Any attempt and you’ll learn at a great cost! Ask Shyam Benegal!
The cult of hero-worship might take centuries to leave the Indian shores. Any supposed misrepresentation of almost any leader (especially political; it could even be a movie star, if it’s in the South of the Vindhyas) could result in riots, violence and deaths. The recent case in point is the vandalisation of an Ambedkar statue. In such a society can a biopic true to the person’s life be made? I really doubt.
The ONLY biopic that has been a hit in the country was ‘Gandhi’. No other movie has been a hit made on a contemporary Indian – be it Nehru, Sardar, Ambedkar or Bose. Motion pictures based on other freedom fighters (more legendary than historical) like Mangal Pandey (Mangled Pandey?) or Bhagat Singh have bitten the dust.
Indians adore the special status their leaders enjoy. Leaders are legends. Leaders leave behind their legends. They are never mere mortals. Either in life or death. They can do no wrong. Any attempt to ‘humanise’ (a strange term indeed to describe most of the Indian leaders) would surely meet a catastrophic end.
You can make movies ‘based on’ or ‘inspired’ by living, dead or immortal legends (like Bal Thackeray, Parveen Babi, Indira Gandhi or even Sonia Gandhi). You’ll have crowds thronging to the theatres and soon your movie would be a super-hit. But don’t ever mess with the legends by making a movie on them directly. Indians love legends and the halo around them. Don’t demystify. Any attempt and you’ll learn at a great cost! Ask Shyam Benegal!
posted by Quintessential Critic (Sudhir Narayana) @ 12:58 PM
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