Movies: Real to Reel life

True fiction is a movie genre that Bollywood has taken to in a big way with Aakrosh being the newest release. Here are some other movies that brought real life to the big screen.

Aakrosh is a far cry from director's Priyadarshan's usually light hearted fare. Dealing with honour killings in Bihar, it closely mirrors the atrocities that plague small town India even today. Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna and Bipasha Basu star.

– All that hair was for Vivek's role as Paritala Ravindra in Ram Gopal Verma's Rakta Charitra. The movie focuses on the events that led to the Andhra political leader's assassination in 2005.

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey will see Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika immortalising the Chittagong uprising of 1930 on the silver screen.

The movie is based on the book Do And Die by Manini Chatterjee about the Chittagong armoury raid in the province of Bengal by the revolutionary freedom fighters led by Surya Sen (played by Abhishek).

No One Killed Jessica deals with the long fight for justice in the Jessica Lall murder case. Rani Mukherjee has been cast as a reporter and Vidya Balan is said to be playing a character based on Jessica's sister, Sabrina .

The Abhishek-Aishwarya Bachchan starrer Guru is said to have been based on the rags to riches life of Indian business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani.

It wasn't considered to be a biopic, as certain attributes of the man's life had been altered in the 'reel' version.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking of all the movies in this segment is the controversial Parzania. Set against the backdrop of the communal riots in Gujarat, the story revolves around the Pithawalas, played by Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika, and their vain attempts to find their missing son. The film was never released in Gujarat for fear of backlash.

Based on the events and the aftermath of the 1993 Bombay bombings, Black Friday was an attempt to recreate the same intensity that grasped the nation.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Kay Kay Menon (as Rakesh Maria) and Pavan Malhotra (as Tiger Memon), it was a hard-hitting film that was garnered great critical acclaim, and of course, plenty of controversy.

Shyam Benegal's ended the final chapter on the life of the ill-fated actress Zubeida Begum with the 2001 film Zubeidaa.

Starring Rekha, Maoj Bajpai and Karisma Kapoor, the movie focused on the life of a Muslim movie actress (essayed by Karisma) who was the second wife to a Hindu Maharaja.

Gandhi, My Father was based on the biography of Harilal, son of the Mahatma. Produced by Anil Kapoor, the film takes a look at the troubled relationship between Gandhiji, played by Darshan Jariwala, and his son, played by Akshaye Khanna.

Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, one of 2010's big hits, is loosely based on the lives of underworld dons Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim. Ajay Devgn's Sultan mirrors Haji Mastan's climb from small time gangster to politician while Emraan Hashmi plays Shoaib who closely resembles the young Dawood. Adding fuel to fire was the fact that Shoaib is shown as living in Dubai at the end of the film, like Dawood himself.

The 2003 film Gangajal starring Ajay Devgn was loosely based on 1980's horrific Bhagalpur blinding incident.

The incident refers to policemen who blinded 31 'convicted criminals', in this district of Bihar, by pouring acid into their eyes.

– Bandit Queen (1994), based on the life of dacoit Phoolan Devi, was an early example in this genre. Directed by Shekhar Kapur, the film was a hard look at Phoolan's life and transition into India's most famous bandit. Seema Biswas' gutsy portrayal of Phoolan won her accolades.

Earlier this year, Mahesh Manjrekar's City of Gold did its rounds.

The movie explores the downfall of the textile mills and its workers in Lalbaug-Parel in 1980. Exploring the lives of all those mill workers that were rendered jobless, Manjrekar's film takes a walk on the darker streets of Mumbai.

Manoj Bajpai's Shool (1999) was apparently a true-fiction portrayal of the nexus between politicians and criminals in the state of Bihar.

Bajpai played an honest officer caught in the midst of this betrayed nexus and the dilemmas it creates in his life.