Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; May 3, 2019)

The makers of Vivek Anand Oberoi-starrer, PM Narendra Modi, the biopic on the ruling Prime Minister, will now release the film on May 24. Incidentally, the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls will be announced on May 23. Heaving a sigh of relief, producer Sandip Ssingh says, “After going through a lot of trouble and fielding so many controversies, we’ve finally found a release window. It’s the very next day after the poll results will be announced and we hope it gets a good run at the box office.”

The movie, despite being cleared by the Supreme Court (SC) and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on April 9, was stalled hours before its premiere on April 10. The Election Commission of India (EC) stalled its release scheduled for April 11 citing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The makers challenged the decision in the SC, which eventually upheld the EC’s decision to place a stay on the film’s release till the MCC is in action in the country.

On April 27, the makers wrote to the EC asking for clarity if they could start promotions in regions where the polling process is over. However, they have not received a response from the electoral body yet. Sandip says, “I don’t think any film in the country has released with just four days of promotions. As aam junta, we will wait for the elections to get over (last phase is on May 19) and then start the promotions. Today, I just wish that when the film opens on May 24, no party or individual raises a flag against it and it does not go through any other round of trials and tribulations. Also, we hope to watch our film with every single person who objected to its release.”