New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has refused to be drawn into the controversy over the film Accidental Prime Minister, which has sparked a row over the alleged distortion of facts.
The trailer of the film, which was released on Thursday, shows Singh as the victim of the inside politics in Congress ahead of the 2014 general elections, in which the party was reduced to a record low tally.
Some sections of the Congress have raised objections over the “incorrect presentation of facts” in the trailer, while the BJP has praised it as presentation of “riveting tale of how a family held the country to ransom for 10 long years”
But the former PM chose to maintain silence. When asked by reporters for his take on the trailer as he was going to the Congress headquarters in the national capital to attend the party’s foundation day, all he offered in response was “no comments”.
Others in the party, however, have not shied from taking on the Anupam Kher-starrer, with spokesperson Randeep Surjewala calling it a part of fake propaganda by the BJP ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The Maharashtra Youth Congress has demanded a prior screening of the movie and declared that they wouldn’t let the movie release anywhere in the country if their demand is not met.
“If the said movie is released without prior screening for our office bearers and without making necessary changes recommended by us that we find out after viewing the movie 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 Congress unit said in its letter.
Meanwhile, Anupam Kher, who is essaying the role of Singh in the film, said that the movie is going to be a “game changer” in political biopics as it does not shy away from taking real names.
The three-minute long trailer takes numerous potshots at Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Priyanka and others from the Gandhi family. “Mahabharat mein do families thi. India mein toh ek hi hai (The Mahabharat had two families. India has only one),” the trailer begins, setting the tone for the film in what will in all probability become a political flashpoint.
Kher, however, said the film is 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?” he said at the trailer launch of the film.