The Inspiration Behind Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine

Here begins an ardent cine lovers concern. Will heroine be just another Bhandarkar movie with female centric stories, glamour gone wrong, abuses, the rise and fall of the leads? While the movie campaigns hold their statement that this is by far the most ambitious Bhandarkar project, critics have begun to grow  a little weary of Bhandarkar being too obsessed with this genre and being reluctant to try anything new at all. Now, of course we are in no position to question his talent, especially after movies like Chandni Bar, Page 3, Satta etc. , but even for a remarkable film maker like Madhur Bhandarkar, the lack of variety may come to cost him.

Fashion received major critical accolades. Kangana Renaut, Mugdha Godse, Priyana Chopra, and the rest of the cast kept it together and made a success of the entire project. The film’s plot was around the fashion industry, the rise and fall and rise in the lives of models. It showcased their ways to deal with relationships, professional flaws, abuse, addiction and such aspects of their lives. Now turn the plot and replace the models with the leading ladies of Bollywood, the heroines, and may be you have the plot of Heroine. So why end up boring and, well, rather, disappointing your fans with such predictable work?

Also, look forward to a lot of speculations on which real life heroine’s life has inspired the movie, ‘Heroine’. Remember Rajneeti? Well there was this crazy hype that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi was the character to have influenced the plot immensely and you can also debate on the fact that this hype might have raised ticket sales. After all, there is nothing called negative publicity when it comes to the film industry. So with the current demise of Elizabeth Taylor, is it remotely possible that Heroine is inspired by her life? For those of you who do not know, Liz Taylor was a true Heroine. She remained at the pinnacle of stardom with her incredible hits like National Velvet, A Place in the Sun, Cleopatra and many more. She expired on March 23, 2011 at the age of 79. She had this severe problem of alcoholism, drug addiction and, a comparatively rare one amongst heroines, overeating.

A little closer to home, we have Meena Kumari, born as Mahajabeen Bano, too had issues of drug and alcohol abuse. She was the 2^nd wife of Kamal Amrohi. Her separation with Amrohi and later their coming together and the filming of the immortal, Pakeezah is of essence. She had at troubled life and among the various causes of her failing health was the continuous sufferance from liver cirrhosis. We loved her then, we love her even more now and her hits like Daaera, Dil Apna aur Preet Parayi, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, Kaajal, etc. are till date, absolutely incomparable.  Did she deserve a film made on her? So definitely yes! Do we doubt film makers’ take on her life? Well, that is for yet to be seen as we cannot hope for anything unbiased and it will be sad to see a biased one.

The Marilyn Monroe, the ultimate glamour queen who is beyond imitation and comparison and lead a checkered life, underwent a fatal overdose of Barbiturates. Her demise at the age of 36 shook the Western, and may be it will not be hard to say, global, world of glamour and stardom. She once said that she knew how fickle fame was, the compensations and the hardships one has to bear while being famous. We agree. It is hard to live a dual life of on screen and off screen personalities, but we also agree that fatal addictions are no solution.

At the age of 36 again, Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi, more popularly known as Madhubala succumbed to a mysterious illness, or perhaps fatal depression, as argued by many. Her films like Howrah Bridge, Kaala Paani and many more are classics. Her beauty is still as good as alive. She had a cardiac issue to be dealt with yet she kept on working. Mughal-E-Azam is her eternal hit.

The life of Parveen Babi too was one of depression and alcohol and drug abuse. She died a sorry death, lonely. Many believe, the Kangana Renaut starring Woh Lamhe, was a tribute to her life.

And I can never name up all those heroines who suffered a miserable life and resorted to alcohol and drugs.  Is it true that women find it harder to deal with professional terms and conditions and conflicting emotions? Of course, there are men too. Guru Dutt, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and more. But somehow, the number of females is higher. May be one day they can make a fresh piece on male celebs with drugs, depression and alcohol issues and the spiraling stardom. As of now, we need to wait and watch how fresh the 2012 Madhur Bhandarkar Heroine turns out.

And at the risk of being a tad bit boring, here’s a caution. If you are lonely, visit Koimoi, not the alcohol or drug store!