Vijay Gutte's The Accidental Prime Minister, featuring Anupam Kher as former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, has courted controversy after its trailer launch. The trailer, which released on Thursday evening, has attracted heavy criticism from the Congress party over "incorrect presentation of the facts."
The trailer of the film, based on the eponymous book by Singh's media advisor Sanjaya Baru, shows the former PM as the victim of the inside politics of the Congress ahead of 2014 general elections, which the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) lost.
Maharashtra Youth Congress have demanded a prior screening of the movie and declared that they wouldn't let the movie be screened anywhere in the country if their demand is not fulfilled.
Now, Kher has finally broken silence over the hullabaloo around the film. Addressing the row, he said, “This is an important story of the country’s political milieu. When I got a letter from a youth Congress leader, I initially ignored it but it turned into a controversy. We didn't do any promotions before the censor certificate. Now, there can't be a third power which will ask us to pre-screen the film for them."
Talking about the biopic, he added, “It is a revolutionary film. For the first time, we are making a film on real life characters, with real names. It is the most difficult role in my career. I have worked hard for 6-7 months."
Saying that everyone knew about the film ever since its announcement, he told ANI, "We have not made the film quietly. The film was announced two years back and every newspaper knew. My look came into newspapers and now the film is censored. We waited for the film to get censored, whether it was the trailer or the film, then only we announced the release. We have in fact only 15 days left for the film to come out. Energy, money and a lot of research have gone into this."
Citing a number of Hollywood political biographical dramas, Kher said when films on Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi are made abroad their actors get Oscar recognition. So, likewise, he should also be nominated for one.
"Abroad, when a film on Lincoln is made, when you do a film on Gandhi or Margaret Thatcher; all the three actors have got Oscars. I should be talking about that this film, according to me, is India's entry for Oscars and I should be nominated for it. Everybody who is talking about this is saying wow this is exactly like Manmohan Singh. So, I will say that these people who are protesting should suggest my name for the Oscars for being so close to Dr Manmohan Singh, so much so that my mother did not recognize whether it was Dr. Manmohan Singh or me."
Earlier at the trailer launch of the film, Kher said that The Accidental Prime Minister was open to interpretations and it would be wrong to say that it supports or criticises a particular political party.
"There will be different kind of interpretations and one can have their own interpretation. People release patriotic films during Independence Day or Republic Day. This is a political film and we would like to release it in the election time. What is the problem in that?"
Directed by Vijay Gutte, the political drama features Akshaye Khanna as Baru, German actor Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi and Aahana Kumra as Priyanka Gandhi.
Follow @news18movies for more
Comments
0 comment