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Why audiences and filmmakers are drawn to real-life stories

All resemblance to persons living or dead

Manoj Bajpayee’s courtroom drama Sirf Ek Hi Bandaa Kafi Hai became a runaway success on OTT recently. What’s commendable is that the film was an OTT release (Zee5) but owing singularly to the critical acclaim it amassed, it was moved to select theatres. Yes, the reverse happened — from OTT to theatres. A lot of reasons have been ascribed for its feat. A crucial justification that industry insiders believe behind its success is that the film could connect with audiences at a deeper emotional level as it was inspired by real characters and events. A trend very widespread now if we take a quick look at the content offerings of recent years.

Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is inspired by the Asaram Bapu rape case attorney Poonam Chand Solanki’s real-life experiences. The other OTT hits of recent times: Hansal Mehta’s Scoop is based on the Mumbai crime reporter Jigna Vora’s memoir, Zoya Akhtar-Reema Kagti’s Dahaad is inspired by the notorious serial killer Cyanide Mohan, who would kill women using cyanide-laced contraceptive and the premise of director Vikramaditya Motwane’s series Jubilee comes from the days and tales of the famous real-life couple Himanshu Roy-Devika Rani and their legendary film studio Bombay Talkies. Audiences as well filmmakers are looking for true stories. Non-fiction is reigning supreme.

As a writer of a series of biographies (non-fiction), I recall a meeting with a famous producer who wanted to adapt one of my books for a web series. During the meeting, we discussed many more ideas, some of them fiction. But he remained indifferent to fiction while pushing for true stories ‘even if they are run-of-the-mill’. The producer also emphasised for the true story to be ‘controversial’ — a scam, a con job, a sensational crime or an inspiring ‘hero story’ — promising a quicker turnaround time from paper to screen for them. To prove his point, he named a few big successes of the recent times: SonyLIV’s Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story, which is now turning into a franchise with a second instalment Scam 2003 based on the stamp paper scam that year. The two hit seasons of Delhi Crime and documentary series Bad boy Billionaires on Netflix, Prakash Jha-Bobby Deol’s Ashram was loosely inspired by Dera Sacha Sauda cult leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Maharani had Huma Qureshi playing a politician inspired by Rabri Devi, the former chief minister of Bihar and explored the controversial fodder scam, Jamtara was a dark tale of credit card scam operated from the small town of Jamtara, Jeet Ki Zid is the story of Major Deependra Singh Sengar, a highly decorated war hero and Avrodh is inspired by the Uri attacks and the following surgical strikes. The recent Jio Cinema hit series Inspector Avinash is based on the life of super-cop Avinash Mishra… Phew! The list just goes on and on.

So what’s the charm in real stories that audiences and filmmakers are drawn to them? May be because they indirectly provide a window into real human experiences. The fact that we know these events actually took place makes them more special. A psychological connect with the characters that experienced those real-life struggles, triumphs, and tragedies. Filmmakers are attracted to these emotional narratives as they have the potential to create a strong bond with viewers and elicit a profound response, and, of course, moolah follows.

The ‘inspired by real events or character’ is definitely not a new genre. We have been making content on real stories since ages. Critically and commercially acclaimed Hollywood films on real stories like Schindler’s List, Wolf of Wall Street, Erin Brockovich and numerous others have already been there. The recent trend on OTT is just the mass market culmination of the genre. Like regional films, we now have stories of small-town heroes and criminals fascinating audiences in more than 40 countries, breaking through barriers of geography, language and culture. The universal language of the medium is the champion here while staying true to local contexts.

The idea that the series or film could be based on real-life events has been so successful that just adding the phrase ‘inspired by real events’ seems to be making projects saleable. This non-fiction narrative space has been sparingly used for the greater good to tackle subjects, such as social justice, equality, discrimination, and human rights. But more recently, propaganda films from Bollywood have latched on to this money-making formula to twist complex issues to serve their own ends and spreading misinformation while claiming to be inspired by real events.

The genre is fluid, open to invention, reimagining, experimentation. We have been witnessing a lot of this as the OTT has provided a platform that makes room for play. The biggest benefactors being the people behind the camera, the fresh talent on camera and the growing set of audiences with every new story that gets released – you! Now that’s a story for another time.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com