Bollywood Biopics Based On Famous Politicians
Posted On: 04 Jul 2022 | Last Updated : 19 Jan 2024 | Views : 1.3k
Bollywood celebrities and politicians have one thing in common, which is being in the limelight. Everything they do, everywhere they go, they are often followed by the media. Bollywood celebrities are often known to have controversial lives, and avoid being part of any political party to avoid more controversies. However, time and again, we see these stars playing politicians on the big screen. With the changing preferences of cine-goers, biopics have found their important spot in Bollywood. In recent years, the number of biopics released has increased tremendously, and often received a warm reception from the audience and went on to become Bollywood blockbusters, and also garnered positive reviews from film critics. Here, we present to you the top 12 Bollywood films based on Indian politicians. Stay tuned for more such Bollywood-related updates, articles, topics, and trivia on movies and celebrities.
(Note: The list doesn’t include Indian freedom fighters.)
1. Shabnam Mausi (2005) - Shabnam Mausi
About Shabnam Mausi: Shabnam ‘Mausi’ Bano is known to be the first transgender Indian to be elected to the public officer (MLA). Born visibly intersex, she was given a masculine name at birth and always faced the hatred and opposition of her father, who gave her away to protect his social image. She traveled from one place to another and learned around 12 languages. Later, she was elected from the Sohagpur constituency in Madhya Pradesh. She later became a social activist and spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and worked for the upliftment of the eunuchs/transgender people.
About the Movie: Action-packed 2005 biographical drama, Shabnam Mausi, starring Ashutosh Rana as Shabnam Bano, is one of the Bollywood movies based on politicians. This musical drama chronicles the life events of the first transgender Indian MLA who fights societal oppression and becomes a successful politician and also becomes the inspiration for many.
2. Rakht Charitra (2010) - Paritala Ravindra
About Paritala Ravindra: Paritala Ravindra, better known as Paritala Ravi, was an Indian politician, who was a cabinet member from Andhra Pradesh and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He followed the footsteps of his father and started as a communist, who donated some land to the poor and later entered electoral politics by joining the Telugu Desam Party. In 2005, he was assassinated by his political rivals that marking his end in office. His death made the rivalry worse, as it was followed by a series of other assassinations of people from both sides.
About the Movie: Ram Gopal Varma’s 2010 political action thriller drama, Rakht Charitra is based on the life of Paritala Ravindra, which was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Hindi. Considered one of the best political movies of Bollywood, it features Vivek Oberoi in the titular role. It follows the life story of the politician, his subsequent rise as a politician, and his rivalry with other influential people, which became the reason for his death.
3. Anna (2016) - Anna Hazare
About Anna Hazare: Anna Hazare is not a politician in the true sense but an Indian social activist who is known for leading the movement to promote government transparency, and investigate and punish corrupt officials and politicians. He gained immense popularity with his hunger strike that started on 5th April 2011 to enact the anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill. He succeeded, as the government accepted Hazare’s demand on the fourth day that was 9th April 2011, on which he ended his fast.
About the Movie: In 2016, a biographical drama directed by Shashank Udapurkar, Anna: Kisan Baburao Hazare, featuring Shashank Udapurkar as Anna, was released, which was based on the life of social activist Anna Hazare. Supported by social activists Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal, and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare succeeded in making the government accept his demand for Jan Lokpal Bill, and later, became an important person who helped Arvind Kejriwal found the political party - Aam Aadmi Party.
4. An Insignificant Man (2016) - Arvind Kejriwal
About Arvind Kejriwal: Indian social activist and politician, Arvind Kejriwal is the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He is the key member and one of the founders of the Aam Aadmi Party and was elected as the party’s National Convener. In 2013, he contested elections against Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, and became one of the most mentioned Indian politicians on social media channels. Before joining politics, Kejriwal was a bureaucrat, who graduated from IIT Kharagpur.
About the Movie: An Insignificant Man is a 2016 documentary film directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, which follows the life of politician Arvind Kejriwal. The movie is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the subsequent formation and rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It chronicles the rise of the AAP that came into physical form after the campaigns against corruption, which was headed by Arvind Kejriwal.
5. Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi (2017) - Vijaya Raje Scindia
About Vijaya Raje: Born as Lekha Divyeshwari Devi, Vijaya Raje Scindia was popularly known as the Rajmata of Gwalior, who was also a prominent Indian political personality. She was the consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, Jivajirao Scindia, and was among the highest royal figures in her area. During her later life, she became an important politician with a notable influence. She was elected representative in both houses of the Indian parliament and was a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party.
About the Movie: Gul Bahar Singh’s political biopic Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi stars Hema Malini as Vijaya Raje Scindia and Vinod Khanna as Jivajirao Scindia. The film portrays Vijaya Raje’s journey from the palace to politics, which was filled with hurdles. She started her political career in the late 1950s and since has been an influential politician.
6. The Great Leader Kanshiram (2017) - Kanshiram
About Kanshiram: Also known as Bahujan Nayak or Manyavar or Saheb, Kanshiram was an Indian politician and social reformer, who worked for the upliftment of the Bahujan or the lower caste people, and was against the caste system in India. Towards his end, he founded political parties like Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4), All India Backward Minorities Communities Employees’ Federation (BAMCEF), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
About the Movie: The Great Leader Kanshiram is a 2017 biographical drama featuring Raghvendra Singh as Kanshiram. One of the political biopics of Bollywood, the movie chronicles the life events of the DS-4, BAMCEF, and BSP founder Kanshiram and his rise to prominence during his entire career.
7. Thackeray (2019) - Balasaheb Thackeray
About Balasaheb Thackeray: Balasaheb Thackeray or Bal Keshav Thackeray was an Indian politician and founder of the Shiv Sena. He started his professional career as a cartoonist for an English daily, The Free Press Journal, and later formed his own political weekly, Marmik. His political thoughts were majorly shaped by his father, Keshav Sitaram Thackeray. With his weekly, he campaigned against the growing influence of non-Marathi in Maharashtra and got support from many, which helped him to find his party, Shiv Sena.
About the Movie: Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer 2019 biographical film Thackeray, directed by Abhijit Panse, follows the life of Balasaheb Thackeray. One of the important political biopics of the Hindi film industry, Thackeray chronicles the important events in the life of Marathi politician Balasaheb Thackeray and the rise of his political party, Shiv Sena. The film was released on 25th January 2019, on the 93rd birthday of Bal Thackeray.
8. PM Narendra Modi (2019) - Narendra Modi
About Narendra Modi: The Indian politician serving as the 14th prime minister, Narendra Damodardas Modi since 2014. Before that, he was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and a member of parliament from Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the first prime minister to have been born after India’s Independence in 1947.
About the Movie: Omung Kumar’s 2019 biographical drama PM Narendra Modi, starring Vivek Oberoi in the titular role, was inspired by the life of Narendra Modi. The movie was released with high hopes, but it bombed at the box office while Vivek Oberoi’s performance received negative reviews from the critics and audience.
9. The Accidental Prime Minister (2019) - Manmohan Singh
About Manmohan Singh: The economist and the statesman, Manmohan Singh was the 13th prime minister of India, from 2004 to 2014. After obtaining the doctorate in economics from Oxford, he worked for the United Nations, and subsequently returned to India, and served as Chief Economic Advisor for the Indian Governor (1972-1976), governor of the Reserve Bank (1982-1985) and head of the Planning Commission (1985-1987). After winning the 2004 general elections, the chairperson of the Indian National Congress declared Manmohan Singh as the candidate for the Prime Ministership, which came as a surprise for the entire nation. However, later he became one of the longest-serving Prime Ministers.
About the Movie: Starring Anupam Kher in the titular role, Vijay Gutte’s 2019 biographical film The Accidental Prime Minister is based on the memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru, which was published in 2014 after the end of Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister. The memoir chronicles the events that occurred soon after the 2004 elections, and how the PM had no power throughout his tenure, rather had to accept that the party president is the center of power. The film garnered a lot of attention and was as controversial as the memoir.
10. Deendayal Ek Yugpurursh (2020) - Deendayal Upadhyaya
About Deendayal Upadhyaya: Deendayal Upadhyaya was an Indian politician, leader of the political party Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and the forerunner of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), who was the advocate of Integral humanism ideology. According to him, the primary concern in India should be to develop an indigenous development model that has human beings as its core focus.
About the Movie: Manoj Giri’s 2020 biographical drama Deendayal Ek Yugpurush stars Imran Hasnee as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. The movie follows the story of the politician and social reformer, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, who also participated in the Indian freedom struggle, and later became one of the most influential politicians in India.
11. Madam Chief Minister (2021) - Mayawati
About Mayawati: The Indian politician Mayawati has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, she is also the president of the Bahujan Samaj Party which focuses to bring changes for the Bahujans or the other backward castes, scheduled castes, and minor communities. She rose to prominence soon after starting her career in politics and became an idol for the Dalits, who referred to her as ‘Bahenji’.
About the Movie: The 2021 political drama Madam Chief Minister, directed by Subhash Kapoor, stars Richa Chadha and Manav Kaul in the titular roles. The movie is said to be inspired by Mayawati’s story but has been sprinkled lavishly with fiction. As Mayawati chooses to be unmarried, while the lead, Tara (Richa Chadha) is married.
12. Thalaivii (2021) - J. Jayalalithaa
About J. Jayalalithaa: Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian actress and politician, who served as a Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years, and was often referred to as ‘Amma’ (Mother) or ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ (Revolutionary Leader). She started her career as an actress in the early 1960s, rose to prominence and became one of the top South Indian actresses, and has acted in over 140 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada-languages. After gaining fame, the actress decided to shift her focus to politics, and her popularity helped her to have a successful political career.
About the Movie: Kangana Ranaut starrer 2021 biographical drama Thalaivii, directed by A. L. Vijay, is an important political movie that is based on the life of Indian actress-politician J. Jayalalithaa, and was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil. It was launched on 24th February 2019, which was the birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa, and was going to be released at the end of 2020, but got delayed due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and subsequent lockdown, and was rescheduled to be released on 10th September 2021.
13. Main Atal Hoon (2024) - Atal Bihari Vajpayee
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Democratic India’s 10th Prime Minister of India, Bharat Ratna Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a man who donned many roles including a statesman, politician, parliamentarian, poet, and strategist. Vajpayee is remembered not just for his inspiring speeches as a politician but as a leader who led India to some of its most challenging times, including the Kargil War and the Pokhran nuclear tests.
About the Movie: Main Atal Hoon is a biographical film directed by Ravi Jadhav in which actor Pankaj Tripathi reprises the titular role of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The film explores the man’s journey from being a poet to India’s head of state and reveals his struggles and relationships with his family, friends, co-party workers, and politicians.
