Friday, 03 January 2025
Friday, 03 January 2025
2024 was truly the year of Bollywood biopics, with several notable stars — Kartik Aaryan, Rajkummar Rao, Ajay Devgn, Sara Ali Khan and Junaid Khan — bringing inspirational figures from history to life on both the big and small screens. Here's a look at six Hindi biographical films that celebrated the trials and triumphs of real-life heroes and left a lasting impact on audiences this year.
Chandu Champion
In Chandu Champion, Kartik Aaryan takes us through the real-life story of India’s first Paralympic gold medalist Murlikant Petkar, who joined the Indian army to hone his skills in a bid to represent India at the 1972 Summer Paralympics. Directed by Kabir Khan, the film portrays Murlikant’s struggles and triumphs, right from his journey as a boxer in the Indian Army to his achievements as a Paralympian swimmer.
Srikanth
Srikanth is a biopic depicting the remarkable life of Srikanth Bolla, a visually impaired entrepreneur who established Bollant Industries. Rajkummar Rao portrays the titular role in this Tushar Hiranandani-directed drama, which follows Srikanth's inspiring journey — from struggling to pursue an education in the sciences to being accepted into four prestigious global universities. The film also highlights his entrepreneurial spirit in founding a startup aimed at providing employment opportunities to visually impaired individuals.
Maidaan
Directed by Amit Sharma, Maidaan revolves around football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, played by Ajay Devgn, who guided the Indian football team in the 1950s and ‘60s to win laurels around the world, including a gold at the 1962 Asian Games. Alongside Ajay, the biopic features Priyamani, Gajraj Rao and Rudranil Ghosh in significant roles. Chaitanya Sharma portrayed the role of ace footballer PK Banerjee in the film while Amartya Roy played Chuni Goswami.
Ae Watan Mere Watan
Ae Watan Mere Watan revolves around a young freedom fighter Usha Rani (Sara Ali Khan), who launches an underground radio station to mobilise the youth and unite the nation against colonial rule in the 1940s. Produced by Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta, the biopic is directed by Kannan Iyer. Also featuring Sparsh Shrivastav as a patriotic young man and Emraan Hashmi in a special role, the film hit Prime Video on March 21.
Amar Singh Chamkila
This Imtiaz Ali directorial is a biopic of Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila, the highest record-selling Indian artiste of the 1980s. Chamkila, who was killed at 27 along with his wife Amarjot Kaur and two members of his band, shot to fame with his song Takue Te Takua and went on to deliver several hits. Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh played the titular role in the film, while Parineeti Chopra portrayed his on-screen wife. Academy Award-winning music composer A.R. Rahman has composed the soundtrack for Amar Singh Chamkila, reuniting with Imtiaz after nine years.
Maharaj
Inspired by the 1862 Maharaj Libel Case, Maharaj follows the story of Karsandas Mulji, a fearless Gujarati journalist, played by Junaid Khan, who goes to great lengths to expose Jadunath Maharaj (Jaideep Ahlawat), the leader of a religious sect, who sexually exploits his female devotees in the name of “charan seva”. Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Aditya Chopra, the film, released on Netflix on June 14, marked Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan’s acting debut.
