7 Bollywood movies based on real events to watch on OTT: Sardar Udham, Raazi to Dangal

Movies based on real-life events always attract people because they give access to experience the incidents, and characters related to the events that took place years ago. The Indian cinema industry has also been able to bring shocking true stories to the big screen, giving us a glimpse of what happened back then. From Aamir Khan's Dangal, and Alia Bhatt's Raazi to Vicky Kaushal's Sardar Udham, here is a list of 7 movies that are based on real events that entertainment lovers can enjoy now on leading OTT platforms. 

7 Bollywood movies based on true events 

1. Sardar Udham (2021) 

• IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
• Stars: Vicky Kaushal, Banita Sandhu, Amol Parashar, Sam Redford, Richard Glover, Simon Weir, Nicholas Gecks, Tim Hudson, Tim Berrington, Sarfaraz Alam Safu, Manas Tiwari, Tushar Sheetal Singhal, Kuljeet Singh, Jogi Mallang, Andrew Havill, Kirsty Averton, Stephen Hogan, Mark Lingwood
• Director: Shoojit Sircar
• Writer: Shubendu Bhattacharya
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Amazon Prime Video 

Sardar Udham's story tells after Michael O'Dwyer's soldiers ruthlessly fired at hundreds of people at the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on Reginald Dyer's orders, the Indian revolutionary Udham Singh assassinated O'Dwyer in London on March 13, 1940. For this revenge, Udham Singh waited nearly twenty years. The plot centers on Vicky Kaushal's portrayal of Udham Singh and his journey.

2. Raazi (2018) 

• IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
• Stars: Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Jaideep Ahlawat, Soni Razdan, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ashwath Bhatt, Pallavi Batra, Simran Sachdeva, Sukesh Mishra, Kanika Dang, Sanjay Gurbaxani, Rajit Kapoor, Arif Zakaria, Kanwaljeet Singh, Pramod Pathak
• Director: Meghna Gulzar 
• Writer: Meghna Gulzar [Screenplay: Bhavani Iyermeghna Gulzar, Dialogues: Meghna Gulzar, Harinder S. Sikka]
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Raazi is a nerve-wracking tale of a young Indian girl, Sehmat, who is sent on a dangerous mission to Pakistan in the year 1971. With Pakistan gearing up to launch a surprise attack on India, the Indian intelligence agency is desperately trying to access information to thwart their plans. Enter Hidayat, a Srinagar-based businessman who also happens to be a part of the Indian intelligence. He has successfully convinced Pakistani Brigadier Syed that he is working for them. The story is a thrilling account of Sehmat's journey as she navigates through the treacherous world of espionage, putting her life at risk for the sake of her country.

3. Dangal (2016) 

• IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
• Stars: Aamir Khan, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Zaira Wasim, Aparshakti Khurana, Sakshi Tanwar, Ritvik Sahore, Suhani Bhatnagar, Vivan Bhatena, Mahesh Balraj, Girish Kulkarni, Sumit Khanna, Gurpreet Toti, Jagbir Rathee, Master Anmol Char­an, Badrul Islam, Karamveer Choudhary
• Director: Nitesh Tiwari, Nishi Tiwari
• Writer: Nitesh Tiwari, Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Apple TV

Dangal revolves around wrestling and is a biographical film based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a legendary wrestler of India. Mahavir Singh Phogat, played by Aamir Khan, has a dream of winning a gold medal for India in the international arena. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond his control, he fails to achieve his dream. So he hopes to have a son from his pregnant wife, played by Sakshi Tanwar, to fulfill his dream. But destiny has other plans as all his four children turn out to be girls. His two daughters Geeta and Babita, played by Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar changed his perspective about his daughters one day when he saw potential in wrestling and decided to train them rigorously to win a gold medal for India. 

4. M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) 

• IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
• Stars: Late Sushant Singh Rajput, Kiara Advani, Disha Patani, Anupam Kher, Bhumika Chawla
• Director: Neeraj Pandey
• Writer: Neeraj Pandey
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Disney+ Hotstar 

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story depicts the story of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni (played by Sushant Singh Rajput), a boy from Ranchi, aspires to play cricket for India. Even though he chose to work for the Indian Railways to please his father (played by Anupam Kher), he ultimately decided to chase his dreams and that is to play for India. 

5. Pad Man (2018) 

• IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
• Stars: Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Parul Chauhan, Mrinmayee Godbole, Riva Bubber, Urmila Mahanta, Suneel Sinha, Himika Bose, Gautmik
• Director: R. Balki 
• Writer: R. Balki, Swanand Kirkire, Swad Kirkire
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Netflix

Pad Man depicts the life of Lakshmikant Chauhan, a resident of a village in Madhya Pradesh. The movie revolves around his inspiring journey of breaking the taboo around menstruation and spreading awareness about it in a conservative society. It aims to educate people about menstruation and bring it into the mainstream, making it a topic of discussion rather than something that's ignored or swept under the rug. 

6. Talvar (2015) 

• IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
• Stars: Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Gajraj Rao, Sohum Shah, Neeraj Kabi, Natasha Rastogi, Atul Kumar, Rajeev Sharma, Abhijit Lahiri, Amitabh Shukla
• Director: Meghna Gulzar
• Writer: Vishal Bhardwaj, Aditya Nimbalkar
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Disney+ Hotstar 

In Talvar, a tough cop deals with three different perspectives on a gruesome double murder. The parents who are accused of murdering their teenage daughter are the prime suspects in the complex case.

7. Neerja (2016) 

• IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
• Stars: Sonam Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Jim Sarbh, Aarush Rana, Anjali Khurana, Sunanda Wong, Eisha Chopra, Meghana Kaushik, Parthaa Akerkar, Madhu Anand Chandhock, Rahaao
• Director: Ram Madhvani
• Writer: Saiwyn Quadras, Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh
• Where to watch/OTT Platform: Disney+ Hotstar 

Neerja portrays the life of Neerja Bhanot (22 years old) and her bravery in the face of danger, as she was a flight attendant on board the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73 that was hijacked in 1986 by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan.

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