Just why are so many biopics made by the Hindi film industry? Are they bereft of new and original stories to tell? Or do they think riding the wave since Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a wise course of action? Or is there a genuine desire to tell these "true" stories?

With the release of Amar Singh Chamkila, Imtiaz Ali's biopic of the iconic Punjabi musician, a week away, it felt like a good time to put out this episode that was canned quite a while ago.

I am joined in this conversation about nine biopics of varied kinds by Ashwani Kumar and Dhruv Krishna Goyal, both significantly more cine-literate than I am.

[VOB]

The Guests:

1. Ashwani Kumar works in the development sector as a consultant and writes about cinema for "High on Films". In his spare time, he rakes artists over the coals for their opportunist political stances publicly and ruthlessly. You can follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

2. Dhruv Krishna Goyal holds a Master’s in Cinema Studies from the fabled New York University (aka NYU), spends his time writing about cinema at ⁠In Review Online⁠ and on his blog “⁠Terminal Cinema⁠”, and co-edits the podcast “⁠Queen is Dead⁠”. Follow him on ⁠Letterboxd⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

The Host:

Varun Oak-Bhakay has a Master’s in English Literature and the written word – consumption and production of it – is still rather close to him, but he’s had a fascination with cinema since the mid-2010s, which has led to a blog (“⁠Cinephile Stock⁠”), a newsletter that he hopes to revive (“⁠Dispatches from a Dark Room⁠”), and now this podcast. You can follow his interactions with cinema on ⁠Letterboxd⁠ and on ⁠Instagram⁠ as well.

Works Cited:

1. “Queen is Dead” Episode 85: The Art and Commerce of Adaptation w/Siddharth Jain⁠
2. Audio excerpts from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Neerja, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Dangal, Sanju, Manto, Shershaah, Sardar Udham, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Mank are used under the “Fair Use Provisions” of the Indian Copyright Act.