Films on Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Kishore Kumar, Dadasaheb Phalke

Bollywood plans biopics on Indian cinema legends

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Dadasaheb Phalke

Bollywood's fascination with biopics shows no sign of slowing down. After chronicling politicians, freedom fighters, sports stars, and business icons, the industry is now turning its gaze upon its own pioneers — the cinema legends who built the very edifice of Indian film.

From Kishore Kumar to Meena Kumari, from Madhubala to Dadasaheb Phalke, and from Raj Kapoor to M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), filmmakers across India are queuing up to recreate the lives of the stars who once ruled the screen and defined eras.

The trend began quietly, but in recent months, several announcements and rumours have confirmed that Bollywood is experiencing a nostalgia renaissance. The Economic Times recently reported that production houses like Ultra Media and Sony Pictures India are developing films and web series based on cinematic greats such as Guru Dutt, Kishore Kumar, and Madhubala.

Meena Kumari (1933-1972)

Meena Kumari, born Mahjabeen Bano, was one of Indian cinema's most acclaimed actresses, celebrated as the "Tragedy Queen." Starting her career as a child artist, she rose to fame with films like Baiju Bawra (1952), Parineeta (1953), and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). Her hauntingly expressive eyes and poetic melancholy made her the embodiment of sorrow and grace on screen.

Also a gifted poet, she wrote Urdu verse under the pen name Naaz. Her personal life mirrored her roles-marked by loneliness and heartbreak, particularly after her troubled marriage to filmmaker Kamal Amrohi. Her swan song, Pakeezah (1972), released weeks before her untimely death at 38, immortalized her as a tragic legend.