Rajamouli may have been unaware of Hindi biopic plans, says Sridhar Lagadapati
For the first time in his illustrious two-decade-long career, director S.S. Rajamouli, finds himself in center of an unexpected controversy – he and his team seem to have been caught unawares in the matter of a biopic on legendary filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke.
News recently broke that Jr NTR would portray Dadasaheb Phalke in the film tentatively titled Made in India, backed by the Rajamouli family and directed by Nithin Kakkar. However, the Rajamouli team apparently came to know that a biopic on the same topic was being developed in Bollywood simultaneously only when an announcement was made in that regard. “I think Rajamouli and his team probably didn’t know that discussions were already underway for a Dadasaheb Phalke biopic in Hindi cinema,” says producer Sridhar Lagadapati. “News of Jr NTR playing the role was trending two days before the sudden announcement of a version starring Aamir Khan and directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Naturally, the NTR project might now be difficult – two major films on the same subject are rarely made simultaneously, and the Aamir-Hirani duo holds a strong edge in Bollywood.” The controversy deepened when Chandrasekhar Srikrishna Pusalkar, Dadasaheb Phalke’s grandson, publicly criticized Rajamouli.
Sridhar says, “Rajamouli is a globally respected name in cinema. Criticizing him attracts attention.” He adds, “biopics are sensitive territory in Indian cinema. Ideally, filmmakers should seek consent from the legal heirs of the subject. For instance, Nag Ashwin took formal approval from Savitri’s daughter Vijaya Chamundeswarii before making Mahanati, and Balakrishna followed a similar path for NTR’s Kathanayakudu. Without such permissions, censor certification becomes difficult.”
However, despite the current tension, Sridhar believes Rajamouli’s standing remains untarnished. “The global film fraternity holds Rajamouli in high esteem. He’s celebrated for transforming compelling scripts into grand visual spectacles and is one of the most revered filmmakers in Indian cinema,” the producer says.
