Bollywood is riding high on biopics in 2015

Bollywood biopics, New Year, 2015, Nyodda, Prithipal Singh, Tigers, Hawaizaada, Main aur Charles, ABCD 2, Amrita Pritam, Sardara Singh, Neerja Bhanot, Kishore Kumar biopic, Ranbir Kapoor, 1983 World Cup, Kapil Dev, Irrfan, Aarushi Talwar murder case, Sona

Getting up close and personal with personalities one had only read or heard about was never this easy. Bollywood has woken up to the idea of translating gritty as well as controversial life stories on the 70mm screen. And what's more, the attempts are largely proving successful - even though the makers run the risk of courting trouble for mixing fiction with facts.

Such considerations notwithstanding, biopics are here to rule the industry as well as the audience's hearts for a long time to come. hitlist gives you a lowdown on some true-life stories that are coming soon to a theatre near you...

Nyodda

Lowdown: A fictional account of true life events revolving around the much talked about Aarushi Talwar murder case. Written by Vishal Bhardwaj and helmed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Irrfan, Konkana Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi, Soham Shah as well as Tabu in a special appearance.
Releases: August/September

Tigers

Lowdown: Based on a pharma sales representative in Pakistan who turns whistle-blower after discovering that the infant formula sold by his multinational firm is responsible for the death of several babies.

Emraan Hashmi in a still from his debut international project Tigers directed by the Oscar winning filmmaker Danis Tanovic

The Indian-international film is being directed by Danis Tanovic and has Emraan Hashmi as the protagonist and Geetanjali Thapa as his ladylove.
Releases: March 6

Hawaizaada

Lowdown: Scientist Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who is credited for putting together the country's first unmanned flying machine during the end of 19th century, inspired this film. The Vibhu Puri-directed film will have Ayushmann Khurrana play the unsung hero. He romances Australian-Indian actress, Pallavi Sharda.
Releases: January 30

Prithipal Singh

Lowdown: The film, directed by Babita Puri, traces the life of one of the greatest Indian hockey players. Prithipal, a survivor of partition goes on to become the best penalty corner converter. It will feature Vikas Kumar of CID fame in the lead.
Releases: February 20

ABCD 2

Lowdown: This one will explore the real life struggle of a dance group from the Mumbai suburb of Nalasopara, which made it to the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in Las Vegas in 2012. Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor are the lead pair of the Remo D'Souza film.
Releases: June 26

Main aur Charles

Lowdown: The film revolves around the exploits of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, which includes the infamous Tihar jail break. Randeep Hooda will be seen as the bikini killer in the film helmed by Prawaal Raman.
Releases: March 13

In the pipeline
Amrita Pritam

Chronicling the life of the Indian writer-poetess, the film will explore her relationship with Imroze, her partner and friend in the last four decades of her life, and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, the man she reportedly nursed an unrequited love for. Sonakshi Sinha and Fawad Khan have teamed up for the roles of Pritam and Imroze in the Ash Dua project.

Sardara Singh

Actress Chitrangada Singh has bought the rights for making a film on the hockey star, who has expressed his wish to see Ranbir Kapoor portraying him on the big screen.

Neerja Bhanot

Sonam Kapoor is said to have been chosen to essay the role of the senior flight purser who saved several lives aboard an ill-fated American airlines in 1986. The film will be directed by Ram Madhwani.

Kishore Kumar

Anurag Basu is working on bringing the legendary singer-actor's eventful life alive on celluloid. Ranbir Kapoor will slip into Kishore Kumar's shoes.

1983 World Cup

Directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, the project will reignite the magic of Indian cricket's maiden World Cup triumph.

Dhyan Chand

Karan Johar is planning a biopic on the hockey legend. It was rumoured that superstar Shah Rukh Khan will play the lead role.

Sanjay Dutt

This film will highlight the ups and downs of the actor's life and directing the project will be none other than Rajkumar Hirani. Ranbir Kapoor is being considered for the role.

MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

It will cover the rise of the World Cup-winning captain and reveal the exciting facts of his personal life and journey, before he became a global sporting icon. The film is being directed by Neeraj Pandey with Sushant Singh Rajput padding up to play Mahi.

Mohammed Azharuddin

The film will highlight the life story of one of the highly successful Indian cricket captains, who fell from grace after being named in the match fixing scandal in 2000. Emraan Hashmi will play the lead role in the film to be directed by Anthony D'Souza.

Gama Pehlwan

A biopic on the wrestler's life will apparently have Sohail Khan in the lead and will be directed by Puneet Issar. The film is said to have created an alleged cold war between Salman Khan and John Abraham, as the latter is also keen on making a film on the same icon.