“Top Political Biographies Movies: Portraits and Power” explores how significant political leaders have been portrayed on screen, chronicling their tribulations, victories, and adventures. These movies provide deep insights into the difficulties of decision-making, the intricacies of leadership, and the human costs borne by individuals in positions of authority. They make the complex mechanics of politics come to life and highlight the personal tales that lie behind historical occurrences. The movies offer a fuller understanding of these individuals’ effect on society and history by delving into their complex depictions and showing both their strengths and weaknesses.

1. Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (2024)

The life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is the subject of the 2024 Indian Hindi film Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. In addition to playing the title role of Savarkar, Randeep Hooda is also the director, co-writer, and co-producer. The movie debuted in theaters on March 22, 2024.

The movie tells the story of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s life against the backdrop of the 1897 bubonic plague, which kills his father. Vinayak, who is enraged by injustices, is motivated to become a revolutionary by people like Shivaji Maharaj and Mazzini. He establishes the Abhinav Bharat Society, a covert organization, and then goes to India House in London to join Indian revolutionaries. Vinayak finishes his thesis on the War of Independence in 1857 and surreptitiously sends arms to India. When he meets Mahatma Gandhi, he observes that their methods are dissimilar. The Savarkar brothers, Vinayak and Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, are detained and imprisoned at the notorious Kalapani in Andaman as India experiences a number of revolutionary events.

The movie gives a thorough biographical account of Savarkar’s early years, covering all of the significant moments in his life, frequently in an almost reverent manner toward the main character. Although the film has drawn criticism for advocating a biased agenda and twisting history, critics have praised the performances of the performers.

2. Thackeray (2019)

Abhijit Panse is the writer and director of the 2019 Indian biographical film Thackeray, which was shot in both Hindi and Marathi concurrently. The documentary chronicles the life of Indian political party Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Thackeray in the movie, while Amrita Rao plays his spouse. The movie came out on January 25, 2019, which was just after Bal Thackeray became 93 years old.

Critics had conflicting opinions of Thackeray. The Times of India awarded the movie three stars out of five, saying that “the main character’s political motivations are unclear, despite the honesty being commendable.” Maybe a more experienced author might have done a much better job of developing Thackeray’s characters and quirks. However, Nawaz’s carefree performance makes up for the shortcomings and has a lasting impression.”

3. The Accidental Prime Minister (2019)

Based on Sanjaya Baru’s 2014 memoir of the same name, The Accidental Prime Minister is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language political film directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari. Produced under the Pen India Limited label, it was a collaboration between Jayantilal Gada and the Bohra Bros under the umbrella of Rudra Production (UK). Anupam Kher plays Dr. Manmohan Singh, who led the United Progressive Alliance as India’s 13th prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

The Accidental Prime Minister examines Manmohan Singh’s stint as prime minister of India and the Congress Party’s meddling in opposing his policies during his first term, based on the book of Indian policy expert Sanjaya Baru. The film tells the story of how Singh was taken in by the dynastic tactics of the Congress Party. The film emphasizes how the Congress consistently disregarded Manmohan Singh in order to protect territory for Sonia Gandhi’s son Rahul Gandhi.

The movie came out on January 11, 2019. On its first day at the box office, it brought in a modest ₹45 million (US$540,000) and as of January 24, ₹305.2 million (US$3.7 million).

4. Sam Bahadur (2023)

Sam Bahadur, also stylized as SAMबहादुर; literally translated as “Sam the Brave,” is a biographical war drama film released in 2023 in the Hindi language. It is based on the life of Sam Manekshaw, the first field marshal of India. Meghna Gulzar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava, is directing it. Produced by RSVP Movies under the direction of Ronnie Screwvala. In addition to Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Neeraj Kabi, Edward Sonnenblick, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Vicky Kaushal plays the titular character in the film.

After its December 1, 2023, release, the movie took in ₹128.17 crore (about US$15 million) at box office globally. The movie was nominated for eight awards at the 69th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actor, and Best Actor (Critics) (all for Kaushal).

Real Indian army men were used in the filming.

5. Sardar Udham (2021)

Sardar Udham is a biographical historical drama film released in 2021 in Hindi, Punjabi, and English. It was directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by Rising Sun Films and Kino Works. Shubhendu Bhattacharya and Ritesh Shah wrote the script, with Bhattacharya contributing the story (which was based on team study) and Shah contributing the dialogue in a supporting capacity. Vicky Kaushal played the lead in the film, which was based on the life of Udham Singh, a Punjabi freedom fighter who killed Michael O’Dwyer in London in order to exact revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. Shaun Scott, Stephen Hogan, Amol Parashar, Banita Sandhu, and Kirsty Averton had supporting roles.

2019 saw the official announcement of the movie in March, and principal filming got underway in April. The film was shot over the course of seven months, with the production wrapping up in December 2019. With a few scenes shot in the UK and Ireland, the most of the filming was done in Russia and India for the England and India story. Shantanu Moitra wrote the film’s musical soundtrack, Avik Mukhopadhyay took care of the photography, and Chandrashekhar Prajapati handled the editing.

6. Gandhi, My Father (2007)

Feroz Abbas Khan’s Indian biographical drama film Gandhi, My Father was released in 2007. Anil Kapoor created it, and it was made available on August 3, 2007.

Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, and Bhumika Chawla are the film’s stars.

The tumultuous relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his son Harilal Gandhi is examined in the movie. The movie is based on Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal’s biography of Harilal Gandhi, Harilal Gandhi: A Life. Despite being distinct from the movie, Khan’s play Mahatma vs. Gandhi, which was based on a novel by Gujarati writer Dinkar Joshi, has a similar topic. The movie was filmed in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and numerous other Indian cities in addition to South Africa.

7. The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)

Rajkumar Santoshi is the director of the 2002 Indian Hindi-language biographical period picture The Legend of Bhagat Singh. The movie tells the story of Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary who battled alongside other Hindustan Socialist Republican Association members for Indian freedom. Along with Sushant Singh, D. Santosh, and Akhilendra Mishra as the other main characters, Ajay Devgan plays the title role. Amrita Rao, Raj Babbar, and Farida Jalal all have supporting parts. The movie tells the story of Singh’s life from the time he was a little boy and saw the carnage at Jallianwala Bagh to the day he was hung before the trial on March 24, 1931.

When The Legend of Bhagat Singh was released on June 7, 2002, it was met with mostly good reviews. Notable elements of the film were its technical features, storyline, directing, and performances by Sushant and Avgan. But at the box office, the movie did poorly, taking in only ₹129 million (US$2.7 million in 2002). It went on to win three Filmfare Awards out of eight nominations, including two National Film Awards for Best Actor for Devgn and Best Feature Film in Hindi.

8. Godmother (1999)

The 1999 Hindi historical drama film Godmother, which was directed by Vinay Shukla, is said to have been based on the life of Santokben Jadeja, a politician who oversaw the Mafia activities in Porbandar, Gujarat, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The life of Santokben Jadeja, who oversaw the Mafia activities in Porbandar, Gujarat in the late 1980s and early 1990s before going into politics, served as the inspiration for this film.

9. Thalaivi (2021)

The 2021 Indian biographical drama film Thalaivii, which translates to “Lady Leader,” is based on the life of Indian politician and actress J. Jayalalithaa. In the Hindi and Tamil versions of the movie, Samuthirakani plays R. M. Veerappan, Raj Arjun plays M. Karunanidhi, Arvind Swamy plays M. G. Ramachandran, and Kangana Ranaut plays Jayalalithaa. Directed by A. L. Vijay and authored by Madhan Karky (Tamil) and Rajat Arora (Hindi), it was shot concurrently in both languages. Producers of the film include Shailesh R. Singh of Karma Media And Entertainment and Vishnu Vardhan Induri of Vibri Motion Pictures. In supporting parts in the movie are Nassar, Bhagyashree, Raj Arjun, Madhoo, Thambi Ramaiah, Shamna Kasim, and Samuthirakani.

On February 24, 2019, Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary, the movie had its formal premiere. The movie’s original titles were Jaya in Hindi and Thalaivi in Tamil, however the creators eventually intended for it to be released in Hindi with the same title. The main photography phase ran from November 10, 2019, until December 2020. The increase of COVID-19 cases and the lockdown in Maharashtra caused the film’s release to be delayed. Later, the release date was moved to September 10, 2021, and the film was given the new title Thalaivii.