12 Biopics That Left A Lasting Impact On Movie Lovers In 2016

‘Anna: Kisan Baburao Hazare’ is based on the life and times of well-known social activist Anna Hazare who agitated against the government to pass ‘The Lokpal Bill’ in 2011. The film starts his journey when he joined the Indian army as a soldier. The flick was directed by Shashank Udapurkar who also played the titular role.

One of the eagerly awaited biopics on India’s most famous cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was released. The film was a winner from day one as actor Sushant Singh Rajput nailed it by playing the cricketer the way it should be. Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the biopic finds itself as one of the biggest earners of 2016 at the box-office.

Directed by Devendar Kumar Pandey, ‘Chapekar Brothers’ is a biopic drama based on India’s pre-independence revolutionary brothers, Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar who were involved in the assassination of British plague commissioner of Pune, W. C. Rand in 1896. The film failed to get a pan-India release.

Another biopic which hit the right notes. ‘Budhia Singh- Born To Run’ was a real story inspired by the wonder kid marathon runner Budhia Awoog Singh. The biopic narrated the relationship between the young runner and his coach, Biranchi Das played by Manoj Bajpai. The film was directed by Soumendra Padhi.

Another dark crime thriller by director Anurag Kashyap, this unusual biopic was based on the psychopath serial killer named Raman who terrorized the people of Mumbai in the mid-1960s. The role was played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui whereas Raghav was portrayed by Vicky Kaushal, a rigid cop who cracks down on Raman.

Director Ram Gopal Varma’s take on the times and life of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan. ‘Veerappan’ primarily focused on operation cocoon which was carried out to capture and kill one of India’s most wanted criminals. Actor Sandeep Bharadwaj’s portrayal of Veerappan was the highlight of this biopic drama.

Directed by Omung Kumar, ‘Sarbjit’ was another biopic which was shot in a start to finish schedule and released in six months’ time. Based on the Indian farmer Sarbjit Singh who was convicted by Pakistan for terrorism and spying and was sentenced to death. Randeep Hooda played the role of the slain farmer whereas Aishwarya Rai and Richa Chadha played his sister’s and wife’s role, respectively.

The much-awaited biopic on the life and times of controversial former Indian cricket captain, Mohammad Azharuddin got released. The film had actor Emraan Hashmi playing the titular role whereas Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri played Naureen and Sangeeta Bijlani, respectively. The audiences felt that the biopic was made to showcase Azhar’s innocence in the match-fixing episode rather than his journey to becoming one of India’s top cricket captains.

Director Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh’ after winning accolades at various film festivals got to release in India this year. The biopic was based on Dr. Siras, a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University who got suspended for being a homosexual. Manoj Bajpai played the role of Prof. Siras whereas Rajkummar Rao plays a journalist out to get the professor justice.

‘Neerja’ directed by Ram Madhvani was based on the slain air hostess of Air India flight 73, Neerja Bhanot who was gunned down by terrorist hijackers at Karachi airport in 1986. The titular role was portrayed by Sonam Kapoor who was amicably supported by Shabana Azmi and Shekhar Ravjiani. The biopic went on to become the sleeper hit of the year.

The first biopic that set the tone for the coming year. After making the rounds in film festivals this lesser-known biopic directed by Krishan Hooda was based on the initial life of late spiritual guru, Rajneesh Osho who was the founder of Osho faith. The biopic was supported by the Osho Foundation.

Though 'Dangal' is yet to release but it's the biggest of them all. Aamir Khan’s long awaited sports biopic drama ‘Dangal’ which is inspired by the real life of former wrestler Mahavir Phogat who despite not having a son trained his daughters to make them world champions in wrestling. The flick is produced by Aamir Khan himself and directed by Nitesh Tiwari.