C alling Sehmat , a fictionalised story of an Indian spy in Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, was the inspiration for the recent film Raazi , starring Alia Bhatt. This week, we look at a few more films inspired by real-life incidents and personalities.

Real to reel

1 Which 2004 film directed by Anurag Kashyap was based on an account of the 1993 Bombay blasts by crime reporter Hussain Zaidi? The film released in India in 2007 after a three year battle with the censors.

2 Which 1997 hit film, based once again on an incident in the 1971 war, was dedicated to the brother of the director, who died in a MiG fighter crash in 1987?

3 Ajay Devgn, Rajkumar Santoshi and Karan Johar are all producing films based on something that happened on September 12, 1897, in the North-West Frontier province. Which is this incident?

4 Hachi is a 2009 British-American film starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen. Who or what was the film about?

5 In 1983, Steven Spielberg’s E.T. lost the Oscars for the best picture and director to the same film, but proceeded to cast the winning director in a film in 1993, and featured the lead actor the same year. To which biopic did Spielberg lose out, and who was the director-turned-actor?

6 Which critically acclaimed 2002 film was an adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s autobiography? The leading man was the youngest to win a best actor award at the Oscars.

7 A Long Way Home , the story of Saroo Brierley, was made into a big screen drama in 2016, and recounts the incredible journey of the protagonist from Burhanpur to Australia and back. What was the name of the film, released in 2016?

8 In 2012, Brad Pitt produced and acted in two films nominated for the Academy Award for best film. One of them was The Tree of Life . Name the other, based on the real-life exploits of Billy Beane and Peter Brand?

9Rush was a 2013 biographical film based on the rivalry between two top Formula 1 drivers. Name them.

10 Which biopic, released on October 21, 1987 and directed by Mani Ratnam, earned Kamal Haasan the National Award for best actor?

Answers

1.Black Friday, the book was Black Friday – The True Story of the Bombay Blasts

2.Border, directed by JP Dutta. The film also features Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a cameo

3. The Battle of Saragarhi, where 21 Sikh soldiers held off more than 10,000 Pashtun tribals for over 12 hours and saved their remaining outposts

4. An Akita dog named Hachi and his relationship with his master, Professor Parker Wilson. The film is inspired by the legendary Hachiko, who waited at the railway station for his dead master for over nine years

5.Gandhi. Richard Attenborough appeared in Jurassic Park and Gandhi’s leading man Ben Kingsley appeared in Schindler’s List

6.The Pianist, starring Adrian Brody

7. Lion; the film gets its name from the boy’s nickname, Sheroo, which he had mispronounced as Saroo

8.Moneyball, the story of the hugely overachieving Oakland Athletics baseball team, based on a book by Michael Lewis

9. Austrian Niki Lauda and Briton James Hunt, specifically during the 1976 Formula 1 season

10.Nayakan , based on the life of Mumbai don Varadarajan Mudaliar

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Joy Bhattacharjya

 

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster; Twitter: @joybhattacharj

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