Bollywood takes a turn with a pursuit of real life stories

Bollywood film Mary Kom features former Miss World Priyanka Chopra in the lead role.

By Updesh Kapur/Doha

The masala mix of music, dance and colour has for decades been a successful cocktail of movie entertainment churned out by the world’s biggest film industry.

Year after year Bollywood has kept the masses across India and around the world captivated with “feel-good” movies. Hundreds of films are churned out annually, many fail, some break-even and only a handful hit the jackpot.

Cinemas fill up at every film release; audiences sing and dance in the aisles; hearts pound at the sight of stars on screen; and men and women sink into a world of fantasy away from their daily chores.

Melodramas, action movies, fairytales, tear jerkers and remakes of Hollywood films of up to three hours have proved a formula of escapism that Bollywood scriptwriters and film makers continue to adopt to strive for Box Office success.

Typical storylines centre on love triangles, family ties, corrupt politicians, conniving villains, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate. There are plenty more.

Sultry actresses, often referred to as heroines, paired with handsome actors – themselves heroes in Bollywood “speak” – have immersed many into dreamland.

A film’s success is often helped by the soundtrack that is released weeks before the official movie hits cinemas as part of the PR campaign to raise awareness and draw in audiences to the silver screen later. This formula for sure hasn’t changed, until more recently that is.

Moving away from the typical ingredients that work can prove risky which is why few in the industry pursue the alternative.

Lately, Bollywood has been experimenting with the unknown; films that will not bring in the money producers yearn for, nor likely to make a loss, yet make people wake up to a new dawn of new Indian cinema.

Hindi language movies, predominantly made in India’s financial capital of Mumbai – home to Bollywood – , are taking a turn.

Up-and-coming writers, producers and directors are taking bold steps to still try to appeal to the masses across India where hundreds of millions of people yearn to watch their favourite stars on screen.

One thing that sells is a combination of star appeal and music.

A Bollywood success often has to have star appeal; those actors and actresses whose movies have been thrust onto the big screen and into our living room TVs through Indian entertainment channels. The catchy music can often make or break a film.

Moving out of the Bollywood comfort zone can be a gamble. But if a film based on the life of an Indian hero can capture award after award, this is a recipe for success.

Audiences can warm to hero status. And so too can they relate to music, song and dance numbers weaved into the storyline.

Last year, Bollywood took to new heights courtesy of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Run Milkha Run) a biopic sports drama based on the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian sprinter who became a national champion and Olympian.

Made on a budget of $5mn, it earned $9mn in its first week of release to later become the fifth highest grossing 2013 Bollywood film worldwide, raking in 1.6bn rupees, or over $24mn.

While super hits are beginning to hit the 1bn rupee mark in the opening week of a release, the success of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was not unexpected.

Farhan Akhtar, the man in the lead role, earned plaudits from across the Indian film industry for a great performance portraying a man who against all the odds succeeded on the track.

In a strict exercise regime that saw him lose weight, sweat it out on the race track and do gym workouts he’s never done before, Akhtar delivered an impeccable performance that also earned the thumbs-up from Indian critics.

One said: “The movie seems like a near-flawless homage to the flying spirit of India’s greatest runner. It is partly because the story is so nimbly woven into a pastiche of drama, emotion, humour and pathos by Prasoon Joshi (writer) and Farhan (lead actor) who occupies Milkha’s mind, body and soul.”

Such was the hit that even American multi-gold winning Olympian sprinter Carl Lewis watched the film and commended Singh for his grit, determination and perseverance to turn his life into an inspirational film.

Described as a film more about human spirit than sports, it earned numerous awards for best movie, production, director, actor, screenplay, lyrics, music, choreography and costume. The list is endless.

The story is about Milkha who became a national sporting hero after overcoming personal tragedy as a young boy when his parents were killed in religious violence in British India before partition in 1947.

Enlisted in the Indian Army, he overcomes injury to win a key race and break the national record and earn selection for the Indian team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Despite a poor performance, he later goes on to beat the world record in the 400m  sprint and earns the respect of two nations torn apart – Pakistan and India.

In beating all the odds to win the friendly race, it earned him the title of “The Flying Sikh” from the then president of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan.

The success of the film has raised parallels with a release last week of a movie depicting the life of Indian female boxing champion Mary Kom and portrayed by Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, who has made a name for herself in Hindi cinema after success on the catwalk as a former Miss World.

The film, appropriately titled Mary Kom, is a power-packed performance by the award-winning actress, grossing $5mn in its opening weekend. Quite ironic was it represented the directing debut of Omung Kumar, a renowned Indian film set designer, demonstrating that the Bollywood is open to a new genre of film makers.

Described as “one of the most inspiring biopics to have ever reached the silver screen” by the same India Abroad News Service film critic Subhash Jha who hailed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the movie hit the right note with audiences.

Mary Kom tells the story of a woman from Manipur in northeast India who fights her way past numerous hurdles in life, including her father’s strict opposition to boxing, to pursue a career in the sport she loves.

The movie follows her interest in self-defence, the boxing gymnasium, her training, her dedication and passion for a new sport while struggling to balance life at home with a young family and professional career against a background of living in poverty.

Some critics say Mary Kom is more about the star actress catapulting her into a new acting league never tried before rather than about the sporting icon who has won five world championships in her illustrious 12-year career.

Ajit Andhare, COO Viacom, the co-producers of Mary Kom, says: “Priyanka is perhaps the only actress today who can on the one hand, play the glamorous heroine with ease next to a male lead in a $16mn film and at the same time pull off a female lead film with powerful portrayal entirely on her own. This is evident in Mary Kom.”

India’s The Business Standard stated in its review: “Chopra’s performance is especially impressive. The actor leaves behind the baggage of glamour and stays believable, even when yelling, glaring and flying at people.”

Mary Kom director Omung Kumar explains: “Priyanka is a star who has got what it takes to pull off a role like Mary Kom. She is a dedicated and hard-working actor and that attitude is reflected in her work. This film required an actor who forgot about her star-power and just became Mary Kom in all aspects. Priyanka did exactly that.”

He declines a guess on whether Mary Kom would equal the records of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, only to say: “I wish people would like the film and appreciate the hard work everyone has put in.”

Prasoon Joshi, who wrote Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, says: “While writing Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMG), I felt that we needed to develop more stories in this genre. And I’d be very happy if audiences give Mary Kom the same welcome they gave BMG.”

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who produced and directed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag explains that the Milkha Singh biopic should not be hailed as a trend-setter of movies on sportspersons.

“Mary Kom is an individual and independent expression. I don’t think Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has set any trend which any film will follow. It is the first one in the category and has struck the right nerve, hence people have made it appear like that but that’s the tendency.”

There are plenty of Indian sporting heroes it can choose from who are seen as an inspiration for others.

Record-breaking cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, an icon across India, is one that immediately comes to mind.

Let’s hope that Bollywood can produce more of these type of scripts, telling the stories of those who overcame the odds by working hard to achieve success and ultimately become an inspiration for many.

Watch this space.

*Updesh Kapur is an aviation, travel, tourism, social and entertainment writer. He can be followed on twitter @updeshkapur