If Your Favourite Author or Poet Had Their Own Biopic...
What movie title will you choose for your favourite Indian author’s biopic?
Manto, the movie, hit the big screens last week and got a lot of the author’s fans talking about Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s acting. But with the movie’s release, social media has also got us talking about Saadat Hasan Manto; the rebellious and controversial author.
And Manto was just one of the many authors India had who broke the glass ceiling. So here’s a list of some of India’s favourite authors who need a biopic on them and some suggested movie titles.
Mohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh was one of the pioneers of the Nai Kahani (New Story) literary movement of Hindi literature in the 1950s. He wrote the first Hindi modern play called Ashadh Ka Ek Din in 1958. He also wrote a very popular novel Andhere Band Kamre .
Harivansh Rai Bachchan
Harivansh Rai Bachchan was an Indian poet of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century Hindi literature. One of his most famous poems is Madhushala. He also wrote the song Rang Barse starring Amitabh Bachchan.
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist. His second novel, Midnight's Children, won the Booker Prize in 1981. The novelist has had many controversies attached to his name, which is why this title could fit the bill.
RK Narayan
Everyone’s grown up watching Malgudi Days which was based on a book written by RK Narayan in 1982 called Maalgudi Ki Kahaniyan . Narayan’s The Financial Expert was hailed as one of the most original works of 1951 and Sahitya Akademi Award winner The Guide was adapted for film and for Broadway.
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh was a celebrated Indian author who was also a lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His Saturday column With Malice Towards One and All was extremely popular. Among his many works is Train to Pakistan and The Company of Women, which still remain popular.
Taslima Nasreen
Still in exile, Taslima Nasreen’s life has seen many ups and downs and threats. She got global recognition for her essays, which she started writing in the 90s, on what she criticised as "misogynistic" religions including Islam.
Sarojini Naidu
Born in a family of freedom fighters, Sarojini Naidu wrote poems reflecting the mood of the country at the time. The Golden Threshold (1905), her first volume of poetry remains popular.
Amrita Pritam
Amrita Pritam is known as the first prominent woman Punjabi poet equally loved on both sides of the India-Pakistan border. She is most remembered for her poignant poem, Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu.
Ruskin Bond
Ruskin Bond is one author most readers have grown up reading. The Fight of Pigeons and Rusty are two of his most popular books. He still attracts tourists to the town of Landour in Mussoorie where he lives.
Ismat Chughtai
Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai wrote on themes including female sexuality and femininity. One of the most popular works of Chughtai is Lihaaf, which appeared in a magazine in Lahore. Her novel Tedhi Lakeer (The Crooked Line) is one of the famous works in Urdu literature.
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