The movie based on the Manmohan Singh’s UPA regime, The Accidental Prime Minister is caught in controversy since the release of its trailer in December last year. On 11th January, the movie hit the theatre throughout the country. Congress Youth leaders, who had earlier issued warnings against the release, have engaged in violent disruption during the screening of the movie.
According to reports, Youth Congress leaders of Kolkata created a ruckus outside Hind Inox at Central Kolkata. This prompted the police to enter into the hall and halt the screening, merely 10 minutes after its start. The hall authorities have decided to stop the screening of the movie, based a risk perception of the viewers and the property.
“The tile of the film itself is derogatory. What did the filmmaker want to imply by calling Manmohan Singh an accidental prime minister? Close to 100 activists of youth Congress in Kolkata protested in front of the theatre. It is good the screening has been stopped,” Bengal Youth Congress President Shadab Khan was quoted by IANS. West Bengal’s State culture Minister has denied state government’s interference in stopping of screening of the movie.
The Youth Congress activists also burned effigies of PM Modi and did sloganeering against BJP. The party has labelled the movie a propaganda film against the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi family.
A similar type of demonstration was also witnessed in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore. Congress and Youth Congress had declared opposition to the screening of the movie, which had led local police to tighten the vigilance in the region. NSUI’s (National Student Union of India, the student wing of Congress party) state unit chief Vipin Wankhede had earlier written a post on Facebook that if any theatre in the state screens the movie, they will have to bear consequences.
Today, at Indore’s Malhar Mega Mall in Vijay Nagar area, workers of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha workers clashed with police, who tried to restrict them from entering the hall. BJYM workers were opposing the NSUI’s declared warning against the movie. Mansavi Patidar, leader of BYJM, said that they had gone to watch the movie so as to oppose the diktat of NSUI. The BJYM leaders chanted slogans against incumbent CM Kamal Nath and also against the Congress party. Patidar also added that police was following orders of the State government and disallowing them from entering the hall.
Congress party has distanced itself from the disruptions during screening and reiterated that party endorses freedom of expression.
After the release of the movie’s trailer, the Maharashtra unit of Youth Congress leaders had sent a letter to the producers of the movie The Accidental Prime Minister, asking for a special screening for them before the theatrical release of the movie, so that they can censor it. Similarly, a member of Punjab Congress Committee had also filed a case against the release of the movie, at Delhi and Haryana High court.
The movie is based on the book by the same name, authored by Manmohan Singh’s former media advisor Sanjaya Baru. It stars Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh and Akshay Khanna essaying the role of Sanjaya Baru.
