The upcoming biopic “Accidental Prime Minister” based on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s years in office has been caught in politics. The Congress in Maharashtra has demanded a preview of the movie.
In a letter to the makers of the film, the party’s Maharashtra youth wing has raised objections to the “incorrect presentation of the facts” and has demanded a special screening of the film to ensure that none of the scenes is factually incorrect.
“Looking at the trailer of the movie it is understood that the facts have been played with and presented in an incorrect manner with regards to ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress party to malign the image of Congress which is not acceptable to us,” the statement read.
The statement also warned the makers of the film against releasing the movie without a prior screening and review by the party. “If the said movie is released without prior screening for our office bearers and without making necessary changes recommended by us, it will be understood that you are doing this deliberately and we have other options open to stop the screening of the same across India,” the statement concluded.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party applauded the movie and on Twitter posted the trailer, saying, “Riveting tale of how a family held the country to ransom for 10 long years. Was Dr Singh just a regent who was holding on to the PM’s chair till the time heir was ready?”
‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ revolves around Singh’s life, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance government and is based on the book of the same name written by Sanjaya Baru, Singh’s advisor.
The movie starring Anupam Kher in the lead role is slated to release on January 11, 2019.
When the trailer released on Thursday, veteran actor Anupam Kher, who is essaying the role of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the film, said it would be a “game changer” in political biopics as it does not shy away from taking real names.
The actor, who has been a vocal supporter of BJP — his wife, Kirron Kher, is a BJP lawmaker, said he does not need to harbour political ambitions to voice his concerns about the country.
“I don’t need to have political ambitions to talk about my country as people think either he is bhakt of a party or bika hua hai (he is a sell-out). I have the right to talk about the country. If that goes in favour of some party, that is a different issue. Unfortunately, when you speak about politics in our country people think you have political ambition.”
— With inputs from Agencies
Source: Rediff