Movies based on real life events motivate us when we are on the brink of losing hope. When we feel that our life is falling apart, a good Biopic helps us through our distress and lifts our hopes. Biopics not only take us through the lives of well-known heroes but also teach us, inspire us and motivate us in many ways. Movies based on true events make for engaging mediums of entertainment, which bring forth a person’s life story to the big screen. Indian audience loves Biopics. Therefore, we have come up with a list of top 20 best biopic movies in Bollywood you must check out.
List of top 20 Best Bollywood Biopic Movies –
1. URI (2019)
IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Director : Aditya Dhar
Cast : Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Yami Gautam, Mohit Raina, Kriti Kulhari
The plot follows the true story of the retaliation to the 2016 Uri Attack. The movie is inspirational and emotional to watch. It is one of the highest grossing films of Bollywood. Vicky Kaushal has given an exceptional performance in the movie.
2. NO ONE KILLED JESSICA (2011)
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Director : Raj Kumar Gupta
Cast : Vidya Balan, Sabrina Ali, Rani Mukherji
A young woman named Jessica was murdered after refusing to serve drinks to three men at a bar after the last call. Manish a politician’s son shot at Jessica and the case was shut down due to political influences despite being multiple witnesses. A reporter, Meera takes it into her own hands to get justice for Jessica. She starts a revolution and tries to fight for justice.
3. THE SKY IS PINK (2019)
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Director : Shonali Bose
Cast : Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim
The story is that of Aisha Chaudhary, a girl who suffered from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency and Pulmonary Fibrosis. The movie follows her short life and that of her parents who cope with their daughter’s illness and their own relationship. The movie is a heart-warming watch.
4. MANJHI :THE MOUNTAIN MAN (2015)
IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
Director : Ketan Mehta
Cast : Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Abhinay Raj Singh
Based on the true story of Dashrath Manjhi, the movie follows the main character as he carves a road through a mountain only with the help of a chisel and a hammer. The movie justifies the saying we all heard in our childhood – “God helps those who help themselves.”
5. KESARI (2019)
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Director : Anurag Singh
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
It follows the events leading to the Battle of Saragarhi, a battle between 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army and 10,000 Afridi and Orakzai Pashtun tribesmen in 1897. The film was released in India during the Holi festival, on 21 March 2019. It received positive reviews from critics.
6. NEERJA (2016)
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Director : Ram Madhvani
Cast : Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tikku
This biographical movie is the story of the brave flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who died protecting the passengers during the 1986 Pan America flight hijack.
7. SUPER 30 (2019)
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Director : Vikas Bahl
Cast : Hritik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Nandish Singh Sandhu
The story revolves around the life of a teacher who is adamant on helping IIT aspirants who can’t afford fees for top coaching institutes. The film tells us how poor education system in India is. The movie is inspirational to watch.
8. SPECIAL 26 (2013)
IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
Director : Neeraj Pandey
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee
A group of con artists poses as CBI officers and executes raids on the houses of businessmen and politicians in order to steal their black money. And yeah, they have the real CBI chasing after them. It is based on the real-life Opera House Heist of 1987 which remains unsolved to date.
9. AIRLIFT (2016)
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Director : Raja Menon
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra
The movie is based on the 1990 escape of the Indians living in Kuwait after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Akshay plays the role of a successful businessman whose life is turned upside down after the invasion and he strives to keep his family and others safe till they manage to reach India.
10. PARMANU : THE STORY OF POKHRAN (2018)
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Director : Abhishek Sharma
Cast : John Abraham, Diana Penty, Boman Irani
The film is based on the nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian army at Pokhran in 1998. The movie is action-thriller and inspirational to watch. Exceptional performances from the cast make the movie worth watching.
11. BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG (2013)
IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Director : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Cast : Farhan Akhtar, Japtej Singh, Divya Dutta
The movie is based on a real-life story of Milkha Singh , an athlete who is an icon and inspiration to many. Milkha lost his parents to Punjab massacre in 1947. He was noticed for his good athletic speed while serving his time in the Indian army. Nicknamed as ‘The Flying Sikh’, Milkha’s story is an inspirational one.
12. MARY KOM (2014)
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Director : Omung Kumar
Cast : Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sunil Thapa, Robin Das
The story revolves around the life story of Mary Kom, who went through many hardships to achieve her goal of representing India internationally in the field of boxing. Her story is inspirational to watch.
13. SARBJIT (2016)
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Director : Omung Kumar
Cast : Randeep Hooda, Aishwarya Rai Bhachchan, Richa Chadha
The story of Sarbjit Singh, an Indian farmer who stumbled into Pakistan near the border in his drunken state and was arrested and tried as a spy and terrorist. It is also the true retelling of the struggles of his sister Dalbir Kaur who tried all in her power to prove his innocence.
14. GULAAB GANG (2014)
IMDb Rating: 6.0/10
Director : Soumik Sen
Cast : Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Bose
The Gulab Gang wears pink sarees to stand against issues such as domestic violence, the dowry system, rape, and education. They are a group of activists in Madhya Pradesh, India. The movie follows gang wars and many other action sequences which are good to watch.
15. SHAKUNTALA DEVI (2020)
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Director : Anu Menon
Cast : Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra, Jisshu Sengupta, Amit Sadh
Based on the life of famous mathematician, Shakuntala Devi, nicknamed as “human computer”, this movie is a good watch for women in STEM. This inspirational movie is a good watch for movie nights with family.
16. RAAZI (2018)
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Director : Meghana Gulzar
Cast : Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal
Alia Bhatt plays the role of an undercover agent, Sehmat married into a Pakistani household. She has to fulfil her duties along with battling with the devils in her own mind. The film is a good watch.
17. GOLD (2018)
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Director : Reema Kagti
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Kunal Kapoor
Directed by Reema Kagti, the movie shows insights of the struggles faced to win the historic gold medal in Olympics(1948) for the first time in hockey. The movie is emotional and fun to watch.
18. BAJI RAO MASTANI (2015)
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cast : Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra
Based on the real life story of Baji Rao, it details the tumultuous love story between Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I (Singh) and his second wife, Mastani (Padukone). Chopra, who portrays the first wife, gives a solid performance in this film.
19. TALVAR (2015)
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Director : Meghna Gulzar
Cast : Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi
In 2008, the entire nation was shaken by the news of the double murder case of a teenage girl named Arushi and the domestic help. Arushi’s parents were accused of the murder and the horrendous revelation shook the nation to its core. The movie captures the tension surrounding the case with perfection.
20. DANGAL (2016)
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Director : Nitesh Tiwari
Cast : Amir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra
The real life story of former wrestler , Mahavir Singh Phogat and his struggles to push his two daughters to a sport that villagers thought to be derogatory, is an inspirational story for all young girls out their facing social stigmas. The movie revolves around Phogat sisters bagging medals in commonwealth games for India in the sport of wrestling.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1. Name the highest grossing movie of real-life based movies genre?
Ans. Dangal movie in based out on the life of Mahavir Singh phogat. The movie earned an overall, 2024 crores worldwide.
Q2. Name the best rated Bollywood biopic?
Ans. Neerja (2016)
