So the master of ‘reality cinema’, Madhur Bhandarkar, is infatuated with the life and times of the American superstar and sex symbol of all time Marilyn Monroe. He is all set to make a film on Monroe’s life, ridden with controversies, gossip, mystery, scandals and everything that you won’t find even in a fantasy flick. She is in fact the one and only star on whose life tons of newsprint is spent by print publications and several millions of pages are added every year on the internet. To make a film on her life will be one of the biggest challenges any film maker may face. However, it is announced that ‘There will be some modifications, of course’. Good, otherwise, a single lawsuit from any of the disputed claimants to her estate, the legal heirs of the persons in her life, etc., can make Madhur Bhandarkar forget about making films forever!
The gossip says, ‘a close friend of Madhur reveals’, “Madhur has always been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe’s life. He has wanted to make a film on her since a long time, but things did not fall into place. Now, he is completely ready with the subject of this new film… One can definitely say that film is inspired by Marilyn’s life. It may not be an exact representation of Marilyn’s life but there will be several elements from the late Hollywood star’s life. Madhur didn’t want to go wrong with this film. Marilyn’s life was quite controversial and Madhur didn’t want to take any risk by portraying her in a wrong way.”
Now, the real intrigue is the personalities including James Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, President John F. Kennedy, his brother Senator Robert Kennedy and Marlon Brando. If they are not touched upon, the story will be as boring as it can get! Now there are life histories written on her life, which can be adapted into a real film! But can Madhur afford to pay for the rights? For example, the dress that she wore on May 18, 1962, for her last significant public appearance, singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" at a birthday party for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden was sold at an auction in 1999 for US$1.26 million. Even some old unpublished old photo of her is auctioned for millions of dollars, as you must be reading in newspapers. So, anything related to the sex siren is so costly to pay for unless one wants to do some copycat stuff!
Rumors have existed since the 1960s that Monroe had affairs with the Kennedy brothers. The affair with President Kennedy did not make it into the mainstream press until the 1970s, but the pamphlet published in 1964, “The Strange Death of Marilyn Monroe” by investigator Frank Cappell threw some light on it, and alleged a relationship between Monroe and Bobby Kennedy. JFK's reputed mistress Judith Exner, in her 1977 autobiography also wrote about an affair that she said the John Kennedy and Monroe had.
The Asphalt Jungle, All About Eve, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch are some of her greatest films. You can see some of her photos of her from those films in this blog and here!
Interestingly, it is reported that Madhur Bhandarkar approached Kareena Kapoor to play Marilyn Monroe. Funnily, if that is true, Kapoor will have to reinvent herself by adding tons of fat to her body because Monroe was never a size zero but a curvaceous, sexy normal woman. If the heroine does not do that it will never be a Monroe!
Monroe, ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute, died a mysterious death the cause of which is still unresolved! It is risky to show any cause for her death! Will he leave the cause of death as a question mark, and leave the persons in her life untouched? Let us see! May be the talented filmmaker must have the right tricks up his sleeves!
