Stories are everywhere, you just have to look. Movies are an imagination of things that have affected the storyteller’s life in some way. There have been so many people and events in history whose stories make for the perfect script. Bollywood has always been inspired by such stories which mirror the society we live in. Here are some of the movies that took inspiration from real events and did justice to those stories.
Madras Café
It is a political thriller with Sri Lankan civil war as its backdrop. The film stars John Abrham as an Indian Intelligence officer in the war-torn island nation. He stumbles upon the plot to kill former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the story sets off from there. The film brought home the horrors of the human rights violation committed by the Sri Lankan government in its attempt to curb insurgency. It was a bold attempt by director Shoojit Sircar and was much appreciated for its gripping screenplay.
Black Friday
Directed by Anurag Kashyap, this movie is based on the serial bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai in 1993. The movie was banned for a few years by the Censor Board of India for its controversial content. With the tag line saying, ‘the true story of Bombay bomb blasts,’ the film timelines the whole episode, tracing the story back to the Hindu-Muslim riots. It then tells us how the whole blast was conspired and finally how the police caught those involved. In a beautifully scripted scene, Kashyap had showed how one of the perpetrators in hiding feels the pressure and weight of the crime as the police corner him. Black Friday is considered to be one of the landmark films that won several awards around the globe.
Shahid
A hard hitting film on how minorities in the country are wrongly convicted, Shahid is a real life story on Shahid Azmi, a human rights activist and lawyer who was murdered in 2010 in Mumbai. Shahid played by Rajkumar Rao fights for Muslims who are wrongly branded as terrorists for their religion. The film made us realise the sad reality behind ‘convictions’ in bomb blast cases. It also underlined us how social stigma and stereotypes ruin people’s lives. Ironically, Shahid who sets people free from the judiciary is trapped at the end, by the cases he won and is shot down by unknown men at his office. Director Hansal Mehta and Rajkumar Rao won the National award for this film.
No One Killed Jessica
The movie is based on the infamous murder trial and the protests that followed the Jessica Lal murder case. Huge outcry erupted when Jessica’s murderer was let go by a trial court. This caught the attention of the nation and what inspired the film. The film portrayed two perspectives of the story, the public fight and a personal one. We see the public’s rage from Rani Mukerji’s eyes, a strong TV journalist who fights to bring out the story despite all political pressure. The other is the personal fight of Vidya Balan who played Sabrina, Jessica’s sister, on how she copes with her loss and relentlessly fights to put the murderer behind jail.
Talvar
The movie is based on the Arushi Talvar murder case and the controversy that surrounded it, which shook the whole nation. It made for a great script as the case had so many twists and turns with so many differing versions on what happened that fateful night. The film put focus on realities like botched up investigations and how internal squabbles within the system can change the track of any case. We are made to feel sorry for the parents who had to deal with all that is wrong with the system, and for this reason the director, Meghna Gulzar, was criticised for taking a stand to portray the parents as innocent. Irrfan Khan as the CBI investigator and Konkona Sen Sharma as Arushi’s mother delivered terrific performances which put the film on a higher mark.
Dirty Picture
Set in the 80’s, it is based on the life of actor Silk Smitha who was famous for her cabaret performances. The film highlighted the ugly side of stars and the film industry as a whole. The lead, Vidya Balan had done an amazing job portraying the complicated character of Silk and won several accolades for the film. This is Balan’s most glamourous role till date. Tracking Silk Smitha’s off screen escapades and the exploits of the industry, the film packed a punch with its dialogues. In line with the true story, the film ends on a tragic note with Silk’s ultimate suicide.
Special 26
This heist movie was inspired by the Opera House robbery in Mumbai. Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher play conmen, who posed as CBI agents pretending to raid a jeweller and robbed him. It was a compelling, smartly scripted, well executed thriller which kept the audience on its toes. The realistic nature of the movie mirrored our highly corrupt society. This was one of the best heist Hindi films ever made.
Neerja
Narrating the story of the country’s brave heart, Neerja Bhanot, this film was bound to be a success. Neerja saved 359 lives aboard a Pan Am flight that was hijacked by Libyan terrorists. Sonam Kapoor as Neerja had done a terrific job portraying the emotions right. Another commendable performance was by Shabana Azmi, as Neerja’s mother who left us feeling the pain of losing a daughter. Debutant Jim Sarbh as the hijacker also left a lasting memory on our minds. Emotions ran high throughout the film as we saw the story unfolding, though we knew how it was going to end.