'Veerapandiya Kattabomman' to 'The Iron Lady': Biopics in Tamil cinema
Several biopics have been made in Indian cinema in recent times, in Hindi as well as south Indian languages. Biopics are films that dramatise the life of real and non-fictional individuals and can cover their entire life or specific moments. These films can be based on the lives of celebrities or ordinary people who achieved fame. From Celluloid (based on director JC Daniel) to Manjhi-The Mountain Man, which was based on the story of Dashrath Manjhi who carved a road through a mountain in Gehlaur, to the recently released Madam Chief Minister in which Richa Chadha portrayed a Dalit leader in Uttar Pradesh (closely modelled on former CM Mayawati), a variety of films have been made.
Although the release of biopics invariably gives rise to a debate on the portrayal of the lead characters and the accuracy in representation, the genre has remained popular. In fact, the late Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa has inspired two films and a web series, with Thalaivi directed by AL Vijay recently wrapping up shoot. While Kangana Ranaut plays the lead role in this film, Ramya Krishnan starred in the web series and Nithya Menen is doing the role in The Iron Lady, directed by Priyadarshini.
The Tamil film industry has always enjoyed a special relationship with this genre, beginning from the 1950s till today and some of these biopics have become cult classics. The 1959 film Veerapandiya Kattabomman, which was directed and produced by BR Panthulu and written by Sakthi T.K.Krishnasamy, can be considered as one of the earliest biopics in Tamil cinema. It was based on a play of the same name which was, in turn, based on the life of south Indian chieftain Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The film boasted of an ensemble cast led by Sivaji Ganesan who portrayed the lead role as Kattabomman and included Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, VK Ramasamy and OAK Thevar. Interestingly, the screenplay of the film was credited to a historical research team which also consisted of Sivaji and Panthulu. It became a huge success and Sivaji’s fiery and powerful performance as the titular character earned him accolades and appreciation, such as the Best Actor Award in the Afro-Asian film festival in Cairo in 1960. He was the first Indian actor to receive an award in an international film festival. However, the film was also criticised by historians for factual errors.
Sivaji Ganesan and B.R.Panthulu collaborated again two years later for Kappalottiya Thamizhan, a film about freedom fighter V.O.Chidambaram Pillai. This film was based on a book of the same name, which was a biography of Chidambaram Pillai written by M.P. Sivagnanam. Sivaji enacted the role of Chidambaram Pillai and the cast included Gemini Ganesan, Savitri Ganesan and T.K.Shanmugam. Although the film received critical acclaim, it was not financially successful. Sivaji’s performance as freedom fighter Chidambaram Pillai was praised by everyone, especially by Chidambaram Pillai’s son, Subramanium, who said that watching Sivaji acting like his father was like seeing his father alive on the screen. Sivaji considered this to be his “highest award”. He also considered his role as the titular character in the film as his favourite.
Sivaji Ganesan had an affinity for portraying historical characters and this trend continued with the film Rajaraja Cholan in 1973, in which he essayed the role of the famous Chola emperor Rajaraja Cholan I. This film was produced by G.Umapathy and was co-written by Aru.Ramanathan and A.P.Nagarajan, who was well-known for directing mythological films. A.P.Nagarajan also directed the film. It was a multi-starrer which included the likes of Vijayakumari, Sivakumar, Lakshmi and Muthuraman. The film received critical acclaim and Sivaji, Muthuraman and Lakshmi were also praised for their performances.
After Sivaji Ganesan, it was Maharashtrian actor Sayaji Shinde who starred in a biopic again, after about three decades. In the 2000 film Bharathi, he portrayed the role of the famous Tamil poet Subramanya Bharathi. The film was written and directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, who directed it after spending five years on research and study about the famous poet. However, the director also mentioned that his film only aimed to show how Bharathi evolved from a young poet into a great poet and that he had not intended to show Bharathi’s entire life on screen. Critics praised the performances of Sayaji Shinde as Bharathi and Devyani, who played Bharathi’s wife Chellamma.
Next came the 2004 film Kamaraj, based on the life of the former Chief Minister. It was directed by A.Balakrishnan and it was shot on a small budget. Richard Madhuram, a former airport manager, portrayed the role of Kamaraj in his acting debut. The other actors included Anandi, Charuhasan and Kanakaraj. Actor M.S Bhaskar dubbed for Madhuram in order to get the accent of the Tamil spoken by the leader correctly and Vairavan, an aide of the great leader, was called in to check the dialogues and scenes for authenticity. The attempt of the director to narrate the story of the great leader and Madhuram’s portrayal of Kamaraj were appreciated. The film was later released in 2014 with some additional scenes.
In 2007, Sathayaj played the role of the famous social reformer EVR Periyar in Periyar. The film was partially funded by the then Tamil Nadu government which was headed by M.Karunanidhi. This film was also written and directed by Gnana Rajasekaran. Sathyaraj, Kushboo (who played Periyar’s second wife Maniammai) and Jyothirmayi (who played the role of Periyar’s first wife) were praised for their performances and the film was also appreciated for covering all the important events in the life of one of the key leaders of the Dravidian movement.
After making biopics on Bharathi and Periyar, Gnana Rajasekaran made another one about the famous mathematical genius from Tamil Nadu, S Ramanujan. Abhinay Vaddi, who is the grandson of veteran Tamil actors Gemini Ganesan and Savitri, made his debut playing the lead role in this 2014 film. The others in the cast included Suhasini Maniratnam, Abbas, Sarath Babu and Radha Ravi. While the film was praised for the depiction of Ramanujan's struggle, and the actors for their performances, the screenplay and the presentation of the story was criticised.
Although in Hindi, The Dirty Picture, directed by Milan Luthria, was based on the life of south Indian actor Silk Smitha, who was known for her erotic roles. Smitha acted in several films in her career, including Tamil. The film, which came out in 2011, had Vidya Balan in the lead. Recently, another Hindi film on Shakeela, known for doing soft porn roles in south Indian films, was made with Richa Chadha in the lead. It was directed by Indrajit Lankesh.
Tamil musician Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi wrote, directed and also starred in a 2017 film Messaya Murukku, which was produced by director Sundar C. This film marked his directing and acting debut. Sundar C had said that this film was partially based on the life of musician Aadhi, and that he had liked the story when Aadhi narrated it to him. The film received was considered 'inspiring' for young people.
Mahanati, directed by Nag Ashwin, was a biopic on veteran actor Savitri. The 2018 Telugu film was released in Tamil as Nadigayar Thilagam and fetched Keerthy Suresh her first National Award. The film also had Samantha, Vijay Deverakonda and Dulquer Salmaan in the cast.
While there is no news on 800, the Muthiah Muralidaran biopic with Vijay Sethupathi that ran into controversy, there are a quite a few biopics that are in the making. One of them is Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, which marks the directorial debut of Madhavan. The film is based on the life of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and the infamous 1994 espionage case in which he was charged and later cleared. Madhavan will be seen in the role of the scientist and the post-production work of the film is going on. It will be released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.
Meanwhile, director Venkatesh Kumar G, who made the controversial film Neelam, based on the Sri Lankan Civil War, has announced his next film which will be based on the life of the late LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Bobby Simha will be essaying the role of the LTTE leader. The film has been titled as Seerum Puli with the tagline 'Rise of the People’s Leader'. It will be released in two parts.
Actor-director Parthiban is all set to make a biopic on Tamil veteran actor Chandrababu. He has completed the script of the film and has also registered it. Actor Prabhu Deva will be essaying the role of Chandrababu in this yet-to-be titled project and the rest of the cast will be decided once the film gets a financier.
Thus, with biopics of diverse personalities being made in Tamil cinema and with many more coming up, it appears that the old trend is making a strong comeback.