Reacting to Congress party’s opposition for the movie The Accidental Prime Minister, Anupam Kher has said that Rahul Gandhi should scold his supporters for opposing the movie. The movie is a biopic on former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and it is based on a book with the same name by Sanjaya Baru, who was media advisor to the former PM. Anupam Kher plays the role of Dr Manmohan Singh in the movie.
Yesterday, Maharashtra unit of Youth Congress sent a letter to the producers of the movie demanding to censor it, and a threat to not allow its release if their demand is not met. It was also reported that the newly elected Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is planning to ban the movie in the state. After the trailer of the movie was released on Youtube yesterday, several Congress leaders have attacked the movie, saying it distorts the facts.
Reacting to these developments, Anupam Kher has said that the movie is based on a book which was published in 2014, and nobody protested against the book. He said that the movie shows the incidents as described in the book, and facts can’t be changed to satisfy people. Kher said that Rahul Gandhi talks about freedom of expression so often, and he should control his party workers. He added the more protests are done against the movie, more publicity it will get.
He said that if a movie is made on Jallianwala Bagh or The Holocaust or any other historical incident, the facts can’t be changed. And they have done the same thing with the movie. The movie was announced two years ago, filmmakers have obtained the necessary certificate from the censor board for the movie before releasing the trailer, and now just 15 days before the release date, Congress party wants to censor it, he said.
In an interview with Arnab Goswami on Republic TV, Anupam Kher said that the incidents shown in the trailer are based on actual incidents happened in the recent past, and nobody can deny that. He stressed that the book was not written by an outsider, it was written by an insider, the media advisor of the PM, who was very close to Dr Singh.
He said, if a movie showed a party vice-president tearing apart on ordinance brought by his own government, people would say this is too much filmi drama as such things can’t happen, but Rahul Gandhi did exactly that, and that is what shown in the movie. Similarly, all the other scenes shown in the movie are based on actual incidents, and Congress party can’t deny them, as they are a matter of public domain.
When asked that whether he was doing a caricature of Manmohan Singh, by showing him as a weak person controlled by party high command, Kher said that this is a known fact, which is also depicted in the book by Baru. Talking about the reference to nuclear treaty shown in the trailer of the movie, Kher reminded that it is a well-known fact that Dr Singh had to fight with his party to get the deal cleared.
Talking about the scene when Manmohan Singh offers to resign, Anupam Kher said that during his research for the role, several persons told him that Dr. Singh did offer to resign, which was reported in media also, apart from being mentioned in the book by Sanjaya Baru. The movie depicts the fight between Manmohan Singh and the party, which may not suit some people, but that is the history, he said.
Addressing to Manmohan Singh, Anupam Kher said that when you see the film, you will be happy with the way you are portrayed in the movie. He said that Manmohan Singh will like the movie so much that he will come and hug Kher, and appreciate his work. He has also tweeted saying that after Dr Singh sees the movie, he will also agree that it is 100% accurate depiction.
I am not going to back off. This is my life’s best performance. #DrManmohanSingh will agree after seeing the film that it is a 100% accurate depiction. Will meet the media at 5.30pm at Actor Prepares, Film Industry Welfare Trust, Santacruz. #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister pic.twitter.com/WwKJNcyVO7
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) December 28, 2018
He said that after the movie is released, Manmohan Singh will become a popular leader. Kher also said that he has worked very hard for the role, to get the mannerism and speech of Dr Manmohan Singh right. He stressed that the movie is an authentic portrayal of the former prime minister, and no facts have been changed as accused by the Congress party. “Dr Manmohan Singh who was not only Congress’ PM, he was the PM of the country and as a citizen of the country I have the right to portray him, keeping it in mind that I have to do it in a delicate and sincere manner,” he added.
Anupam Kher also said that The Accidental Prime Minister should be nominated for the Oscars.
