5 Outstanding Real Life Characters In 2020

Real-life characters are the flavour  of the  new decade. As  everyone  grabs every opportunity to play authentic characters, here  is my  pick of  the  lot.

1.     Deepika Padukone as Laxmi Aggarwal  in Chhapaak: So okay , the makers  of the film have chosen to  change the  acid-attack  survivor’s name.But there  is no doubt that this is   Laxmi Aggarwal’s story. And  we should celebrate Deepika Padukone’s startling transformation into  a scarred  but  never scared  soul   in that spirit. Director  Meghna Gulzar has worked wonders  in the past in real-life  stories with  Alia Bhatt in  Raazi and Irrfan  Khan-Konkona Sen Sharma-Neeraj Kabi in  Talwar.  Can’t wait to see  where Meghna takes Deepika  .

2.     Ranveer Singh  as Kapil Dev in ’83: Though  Deeepika looks  nothing like Mrs KapilDev, Ranveer Singh’s likeness to  the actual cricketer is  uncanny. From what I’ve heard    Ranveer  has given a performance so close to the real person that  the only parallel  to be drawn is what Ben Kingley  did with Mahatma Gandhi aeons ago. There are  other actors playing other real-life cricketers in Kabir Khan’s  sports drama  about India’s victory at  the  1983  World Cup. But make no mistake this is  a Ranveer-as-Kapil story.

3.     Kangana Ranaut as  Jayalalitha  in  Thalaivi:  Admittedly the response to the first  promotional  video has  been far from encouraging. People  are  scoffing at Kangana’s attempt to look like Tamil Nadu’s Iron Lady. But why must Kangana LOOK likeJayalalitha? Is it not more  important  to grab the soul of the real  person? Let’s wait and see what this mercurial performer has done with one  of  the most enigmatic  politicians  of not only our times  but all times.

4.     Vidya Balan  as Shakuntala Devi in Shakuntala Devi :  Once  during my  childhood I  had met the Human Computer in Trinidad ,West Indies.Her laughter  and her rapidfireconversation is still  embedded  in  my mind.As far as  I am concerned Vidya has the  range to  portray  the boisterousness  the Maths  genius.Vidya also has the most infectious laughter in  the film industry. I am already convinced she is  the best Shakuntala Devi.

5.     Parineeti Chopra as  Saina Nehwal in Saina: It’s not easy playing a living character and that too one so much in  the public eye.Shradha  Kapoor realized it soon enough when she was unable to play the  badminton queen Saina Nehwal. I can’t wait to see what  Prineeti does  with the  role. Will she look  convincing  ? The cork is in Parineeti’s court.