BRAVE ART OF MAKING BIOPICS IN A MINEFIELD OF CONTROVERSIES
Directors Need Artistic Freedom, Right Cast & Informative Script To Produce Successful Films
Neeraja.Ramesh@timesgroup.com 25.05.2018
Nadigaiyar Thilagam’, the biopic on yesteryear actress Savitri that recently hit the screens has received rave reviews from audience and critics alike for being a respite from masala movies. But Tamil film industry has not been quite forthcoming in making biopics.
Is it the industry’s inclination towards commercial scripts or filmmakers’ apprehension towards audience response to the genre that makes biopics a rarity? Experts say both are conjectures, especially when audience’s fetish for unrealistic cinema is passé. They say a filmmaker mulling a biopic today is more worried about the controversies it may invite and the legal hurdles he may have to face, than audience response.
Biopics like ‘Periyar’ (2007), ‘Bharathi’ (2000) and ‘Ramanujan’ (2014) may have not been hits, but they catered to niche audiences. The biopics inspired many to read about Bharathi and Ramanujan. After Periyar’s release, youth enrolled themselves in Dravidian parties.
Gnana Rajasekaran, director of the above films, also a three-time national awards winner, feels biopics give filmmakers an opportunity to use cinema as a platform to educate audience. “For ‘Bharathi’, I read close to 50 books. But not all had what I was looking for. Most had information that was already known, while some adulated the poet too much and some were too negative about him. I wanted a balanced account of Subramania Bharathi and lesser-known facts about him. If not for Bharathi’s relatives, the movie would have been a damp squib,” he says.
Abhinaya Vaddi, actor and grandson of Gemini Ganesan and Savitri, who played the title character in ‘Ramanujan’, says the content of a film has to be correct and convincing for it to strike a chord with the people. “When I signed ‘Ramanujan,’ people asked me why I was starting my career with such a film. But I felt it was the right start. I may not have become a commercial hero, but playing Ramanujan gave me immense satisfaction”
But, not all are bold enough to present a biopic in its truest form, says Khusbhu, who played the role of Maniammai in ‘Periyar’. “Art films do not get enough profits, hence the hesitation. Fringe elements were up in arms about my casting (as Maniammai), but the producer stuck to his decision. The movie made decent profits. I received compliments from the likes of Kalaignar Karunanidhi and Periyar’s grandson EVKS Elangovan. That was like receiving Oscars to me. But, the fact remains that if the right cast and script are in place, a biopic could be a filmmaker’s delight,” Khusbhu says.
Kutti Padmini, who is working on J Jayalalithaa’s biopic for an international firm, says directors and producers who make period films usually land up in courts due to opposition by political groups or relatives of the featured person.
Nag Ashwin’s ‘Nadigaiyar Thilagam’, for instance, has received its share of brickbats. Even as Gemini Ganesan’s daughter Kamala Selvaraj expressed her displeasure over her father’s portrayal in the film, Vaddi feels otherwise. Lauding the film, he says it had enough research material on Savitri to do justice to her character. “She (Kamala) is entitled to her opinion as a daughter but, I feel the movie has done justice to the character. In case of ‘Ramanujan’ we did not have enough material. The mathematician died when he was in his early thirties. The children of his friends helped us with the data which was sketchy,” he adds.
Inability to exercise their artistic freedom also discourages many filmmakers from doing biopics, feels Khushbhu. “Look at ‘Padmavaat’. How will producers explore sensitive topics if every period film is criticised? Trust and freedom in cinema is the need of the hour.”
For biopics to be accepted, Rajasekaran says, the Tamil film industry has to progress from being hero-centric to being script-centric. “Things have to change here. My own castings have been very low key. In ‘Bharathi’ for instance, I chose the lesserknown Sayaji Shinde for the role as I wanted to erase the image of S V Subbaiah as Bharati’s screen representative from the audience’s mind. My castings were widely appreciated.”
Email your feedback to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com
Directors Need Artistic Freedom, Right Cast & Informative Script To Produce Successful Films
Neeraja.Ramesh@timesgroup.com 25.05.2018
Nadigaiyar Thilagam’, the biopic on yesteryear actress Savitri that recently hit the screens has received rave reviews from audience and critics alike for being a respite from masala movies. But Tamil film industry has not been quite forthcoming in making biopics.
Is it the industry’s inclination towards commercial scripts or filmmakers’ apprehension towards audience response to the genre that makes biopics a rarity? Experts say both are conjectures, especially when audience’s fetish for unrealistic cinema is passé. They say a filmmaker mulling a biopic today is more worried about the controversies it may invite and the legal hurdles he may have to face, than audience response.
Biopics like ‘Periyar’ (2007), ‘Bharathi’ (2000) and ‘Ramanujan’ (2014) may have not been hits, but they catered to niche audiences. The biopics inspired many to read about Bharathi and Ramanujan. After Periyar’s release, youth enrolled themselves in Dravidian parties.
Gnana Rajasekaran, director of the above films, also a three-time national awards winner, feels biopics give filmmakers an opportunity to use cinema as a platform to educate audience. “For ‘Bharathi’, I read close to 50 books. But not all had what I was looking for. Most had information that was already known, while some adulated the poet too much and some were too negative about him. I wanted a balanced account of Subramania Bharathi and lesser-known facts about him. If not for Bharathi’s relatives, the movie would have been a damp squib,” he says.
Abhinaya Vaddi, actor and grandson of Gemini Ganesan and Savitri, who played the title character in ‘Ramanujan’, says the content of a film has to be correct and convincing for it to strike a chord with the people. “When I signed ‘Ramanujan,’ people asked me why I was starting my career with such a film. But I felt it was the right start. I may not have become a commercial hero, but playing Ramanujan gave me immense satisfaction”
But, not all are bold enough to present a biopic in its truest form, says Khusbhu, who played the role of Maniammai in ‘Periyar’. “Art films do not get enough profits, hence the hesitation. Fringe elements were up in arms about my casting (as Maniammai), but the producer stuck to his decision. The movie made decent profits. I received compliments from the likes of Kalaignar Karunanidhi and Periyar’s grandson EVKS Elangovan. That was like receiving Oscars to me. But, the fact remains that if the right cast and script are in place, a biopic could be a filmmaker’s delight,” Khusbhu says.
Kutti Padmini, who is working on J Jayalalithaa’s biopic for an international firm, says directors and producers who make period films usually land up in courts due to opposition by political groups or relatives of the featured person.
Nag Ashwin’s ‘Nadigaiyar Thilagam’, for instance, has received its share of brickbats. Even as Gemini Ganesan’s daughter Kamala Selvaraj expressed her displeasure over her father’s portrayal in the film, Vaddi feels otherwise. Lauding the film, he says it had enough research material on Savitri to do justice to her character. “She (Kamala) is entitled to her opinion as a daughter but, I feel the movie has done justice to the character. In case of ‘Ramanujan’ we did not have enough material. The mathematician died when he was in his early thirties. The children of his friends helped us with the data which was sketchy,” he adds.
Inability to exercise their artistic freedom also discourages many filmmakers from doing biopics, feels Khushbhu. “Look at ‘Padmavaat’. How will producers explore sensitive topics if every period film is criticised? Trust and freedom in cinema is the need of the hour.”
For biopics to be accepted, Rajasekaran says, the Tamil film industry has to progress from being hero-centric to being script-centric. “Things have to change here. My own castings have been very low key. In ‘Bharathi’ for instance, I chose the lesserknown Sayaji Shinde for the role as I wanted to erase the image of S V Subbaiah as Bharati’s screen representative from the audience’s mind. My castings were widely appreciated.”
Email your feedback to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com
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