Becoming the soul of a biopic is never easy. The actress has to step into a life that people already know, and that itself makes these roles a risky bet. There is no scope to simply play the part and move on.
That is what makes the current line-up interesting. Shraddha Kapoor is playing Vithabai Narayangaonkar, the popular Marathi stage artist and Lavani dancer. Rashmika Mandanna is taking on the role of legendary Carnatic singer M.S. Subbulakshmi. Kiara Advani, meanwhile, is set to portray Meena Kumari.
All three are familiar commercial faces. Now they are taking characters where the star image has to take a back seat. The audience already knows these women, so the performances will be judged differently. If the portrayal clicks, the role could become a major career highlight. If it doesn’t, the comparison with the real personality could become difficult to escape.
Keerthy Suresh got a similar opportunity with Mahanati. Her portrayal of Savitri connected strongly with the audience and became one of the biggest highlights of the film. More importantly, it showed how a biopic can give an actress a performance that stands apart from her regular commercial roles.
That is the attraction of these films, and also the risk. A successful portrayal can change the way an actress is viewed. A weak one can leave the audience talking more about the legend than the performance.
Rashmika, Shraddha and Kiara now have that gamble in front of them. They have to put their star image aside and make somebody else’s story work through them. One role, one legend, one big gamble. The payoff could be huge if they get it right.
