11 timeless movies and TV shows based on real events that are content heaven
Reel to real never looked so good
The advent of OTT has catered to our viewing moods like batata bhaji on a rainy day. Feeling rosy? Watch a Jennifer Aniston rom-com. Period cramps making you rage? Bloody documentaries for the win. Due for a crying session? Open the floodgates by streaming one of these tearjerkers.
It’s the one market you will never return disappointed from and will always have more variety than Sarojini Nagar. While fiction bodes well for escaping reality, documentaries are the go-to for educational purposes. But in the venn diagram of content, when these two overlap, it hits the sweet spot of viewing pleasure. Movies and shows based on real events however are tricky to navigate. Balancing the dramatisation and staying true to the real story is nothing less than putting on a brilliant show of Swan Lake.
Some turn out to be real paani kam chai but there are a few that just knock it out of the park by creating a brilliant piece of cinema. For those of you who love visiting this sweet spot of overlap from time to time, we’ve put together a list of shows and movies based on real-life events that go beyond Chernobyl and The Crown. These have been successful in baking the cake and eating it too. Get your popcorn tub ready, it’s showtime.
This watchlist based on real events is what you should stream next
The Railway Men (2023)
The first time I read about Union Carbide and the Bhopal gas tragedy was in my class eight civics book. I watched the first onscreen version of it several years later in a cinema class in college. But the way this Hindi miniseries The Railway Men brought the story alive on screen, I had to turn it off after the first episode to take a beat.
The limited Netflix series starts 16 hours before the gas leak and takes the viewers not just through what happens post but also what was happening leading to the gas leak. It highlights the contribution of railway officials who did their best to save as many lives as possible in the absence of medical infrastructure and government support.
Solid performances by R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Juhi Chawla Mehta and Babil Khan support the impactful storytelling. The Railway Men creates an eerie atmosphere and is successfully able to transport you into the story. It can prove to be an intense watch given the subject and can stir a lot of emotions. Some visuals can be difficult to look at so it’s best to prepare yourself before sitting to watch it.
Scam 2003: The Telgi Story (2023)
A spiritual sequel of Scam 1992, The Harshad Mehta Story, Scam 2003: The Telgi Story (2023) delves into the story of Abdul Karim Telgi, who was at the centre of the stamp paper scam that came to light in 2003. The 10-part series starring theatre veteran Gagan Dev Riar as Telgi starts with him in an operation theatre seemingly under anaesthesia with the doctors asking him to reveal the names of officials involved in the scam. We are then taken back to Telgi’s humble beginnings as a fruit seller in trains and follow along as he rises to be the kingpin of the scam.
The buildup is slow, with every episode illustrating one step that he took towards creating his stamp paper empire and his eventual downfall once officials turned against him to save their names. Scam 1992 was criticised for generating sympathy for Harshad Mehta. In Scam 2003, you don’t feel bad about how things end for Telgi and his story ends on a neutral note. It’s a gripping tale and a must-watch
Trial by Fire (2023)
Inspired by the book of the same name written by the Krishnamoorthys, Trial by Fire is based on Delhi’s Uphaar cinema fire of 1997. After their two kids die in the cinema fire, Shekhar and Neelam Krishnamoorthy find out that it was a man-made tragedy that could’ve been avoided. The couple then take on the Ansal brothers to get justice for their kids’ murders. The show won the Best Series Critics at the Filmfare OTT awards this year.
The seven-episode series depicts the couple’s monumental struggle to get the truth out about the Ansal brothers, poor theatre management and evidence cover-up to escape scrutiny. The show is as much about parents seeking justice as it is about revealing the underbelly of the corrupt system. The director is successful in capturing the grief of the parents and conveying it across the screen to the audience. Powerful performances by Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande make this a captivating watch. There will be moments you’ll be seething with anger and moments where you will fight back tears. You should absolutely not miss this gem.
Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway (2023)
Rani Mukherjee stars as Debika Chatterjee who along with her husband Aniruddha and two kids live in Stavanger, Norway. It’s quickly clear that they’re being evaluated by child welfare authorities of the country. As a new mother to her younger daughter, Debika is seen struggling to manage motherhood, being a wife and taking care of the home. She has little to no help from her husband who is only concerned about getting his permanent citizenship in the country. Soon enough, child services take both their kids away citing Debika’s inability to care for her children, questioning her mental health and reprimanding her husband for not helping out at home.
What follows is a long legal battle spanning two countries as Debika and Aniruddha fight the system to get custody of their children. The story takes a murkier turn when Aniruddha turns against Debika and she finds herself in yet another fight against her husband and in-laws to win custody of her children. The film is based on the real-life events of Sagarika Chakraborty whose kids were taken away from her by the Norwegian authorities in 2011.
Harishchandrachi Factory
Raja Harishchandra walked so Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani could run. It was India’s first full-length feature film released in 1913 — black and white, silent and made by Dadasaheb Phalke, father of Indian cinema.
Harishchandrachi Factory follows an unemployed Phalke (played by Nandu Madhav), who after abandoning a well-set printing press business, comes across a tent showcasing a Hollywood film. Inspired by the chal chitra on screen, he decides to make a feature film himself. Harishchandrachi Factory follows Phalke as he goes about making the movie while dealing with all the production, financing and casting struggles and facing societal hostility. From Phalke’s humble beginnings to his dedication to learning how to operate the camera, and then making the first film, the process is captured comically in this Marathi movie. There will be no one moment that won’t make you smile if not laugh. Harishchandrachi Factory was also selected as India’s official entry to the 2009 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Elisa & Marcela (2019)
A Spanish language film, Elisa & Marcela is an interesting tale of passion, love and the first recorded same-sex marriage in Spain. At a time when same-sex relationships were illegal along with being scandalous in Spain, two women Elisa and Marcela form a strong friendship that eventually develops into a passionate romance. In order to be together, Elisa assumes the identity of a man, and the women get married. What follows is a life of hardships as they attempt to live together while facing the authorities and society.
The film is based on the real-life story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas who fooled the Catholic Church in Spain and got married legally. Same-sex marriages in Spain were legalised much later in 2005. The poignant story of two women prioritising their love and needs in a hostile environment makes it an absolute must-watch.
The Post (2017)
Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg come together in this film for a retelling of the publishing of the Pentagon Papers by Washington Post journalists. In 1971, Katherine Graham is heading the Washington Post after the suicide of her husband Phil Graham, the former publisher and the death of her father, the former owner. She’s a prominent socialite in D.C. with friends in and around the administration.
When the Post gets a whiff of the New York Times publishing the classified Pentagon Papers, the editors begin discussing the way forward. But at the same time, a district court places an injunction on the Times to stop it from publishing, leaving The Post in a fix. How the executive editor Ben Bradlee and Kat Graham go against the board of directors and their respective social standing to bring the truth to light makes up the rest of the story. Meryl Streep even has a mic-drop monologue for the board of directors when they tell her she’s not capable of making an important decision like this. The story covers the true events that led to the New York Times and Washington Post publishing the classified documents that revealed US involvement in the Vietnam War.
Spotlight (2015)
Another journalism drama, Spotlight is a must include film in a watchlist based on real-life events. The film follows Boston Globe’s investigative team Spotlight as they set about uncovering the sexual abuse at the hands of priests in the Massachusetts area, led by an incredible ensemble cast including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and more.
In 2001, the Boston Globe gets a new editor who enlists the Spotlight team to investigate the sexual abuse accusations. While initially believing they’re following the story of one priest whose misconduct was covered up, they eventually find a pattern of sexual abuse at the hands of several priests in the area. The movie highlights the team’s efforts in bringing this to light while also detailing the toll intense stories like these take on journalists. Watch Spotlight only if you’re ready to be sucked into a disturbing world filled with murky truths.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
If Suits is your comfort show, Erin Brockovich has to be on your watchlist. Julia Roberts stars as the title character, paralegal Erin Brockovich. While working on files of a real-estate case, Erin comes across incidents of unexplained and widespread illness and health problems in Hinkley, California. Over the course of the film, she discovers that the health issues are a result of water being contaminated by carcinogenic hexavalent chromium coming from a Pacific Gas and Electric Company plant. How she leads the plaintiffs against the company and gets them a settlement forms the rest of the plot.
The movie is based on the real story of paralegal Erin Brokovich whose research and investigation facilitated a class action lawsuit against PG&E and caused them to pay a settlement worth $333 million in 1996.
Air (2023)
Nike is every sneakerhead’s shoe heaven. And one of their most popular product lines is the Air Jordan, named after NBA star Micheal B Jordan. The film takes us back to their origin story. In 1984, Nike’s basketball shoe division has low sales and is on the verge of shutting down. In order to reinvent, the brand plans to pitch to Michael Jordan who’s a known Adidas fan. Once the Jordans agree to a meeting, Nike creates an Air Jordan prototype for the pitch, named after Nike’s Air sole technology and Michael Jordan himself—the rest is history. The movie stars Matt Damon, Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck in leading roles and the ever-talented Viola Davis as Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris.
Most sports films talk about the player or a life-changing game, but Air talks about the beginning of a player-inspired product line that became a game-changer for Nike.
Zodiac (2007)
A watchlist based on real events must have a recommendation based on true crime. If you’ve had your phase of obsession with Netflix’s Mindhunter or are a curious cat when it comes to serial killers, you should schedule a movie night (or afternoon) with Zodiac. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr, the film is based on the Zodiac Killer who committed several murders in the 1960s and early ’70s and sent taunting letters to several publications. The film follows several characters — political cartoonist Robert Graysmith, police officers and journalists all of whom try to piece together who the real Zodiac killer is.
Following several leads to a dead end, the chase consumes the lives of these protagonists with no success. The twists and turns of the movie will keep your eyes glued to the screen and cause several replays. The case remains open to date with no solid evidence found against the real Zodiac killer.
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