Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; May 23, 2019)

Director Omung Kumar admits that he was apprehensive about helming the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but he is heaving a sigh of relief now, as the film has overcome several hurdles and is finally opening in cinemas, tomorrow. Excerpts from a chat with BT...

The release of your film, PM Narendra Modi, was stalled by the Election Commission of India (ECI) less than 24 hours before release (on April 10). Despite seeking legal recourse, you had to wait for the elections to wrap up before you could release the film. Finally, it’s scheduled to hit theatres tomorrow. How do you feel?
I am relieved (smiles). It’s not as if we knew how to handle a situation like that. We thought that we had made an honest film and the window for release was apt. However, others didn’t see it that way and we faced a lot of heat for it. The producers have run into huge losses. The film had created the right buzz at that time, which has somewhat dipped in the last few weeks. The entire episode has left a bad taste in our mouth. I hope that all these delays and troubles that we have been through benefits the film.

Since its inception, the biopic has been in the eye of a lot of controversies. Did that affect you while making it?
I work with blinkers on. I don’t think about anything other than my work. Also, Sandeep Ssingh (producer) ensured that nothing reaches me. It’s a humongous responsibility to direct a film that narrates the story of the current PM of our country. I’ve not attempted a political film; it’s about the person, with all the facts of his professional life in place and all the dots joined with more focus on the personal journey of the man. I am politically insulated and so, I don’t get influenced by anything even remotely political. I see everything with a neutral eye. For me, this is the story of a chaiwala, who became the prime minister of India.

You faced a lot of flak for casting Vivek Anand Oberoi as the central character...
I faced flak when I cast Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom in her biopic, but the film went on to win a National Award. I faced the same heat for Vivek. From where I see it, he’s perfectly cast in the role and he’s done his best. When I started researching for the film, I found a picture of him as Narendra Modi online. I was stunned that he had already been considered for a film on the PM before.

Isn’t it a strange coincidence that your film was announced weeks before the campaigns for Lok Sabha polls flagged off, and it was originally scheduled to open on the day the first phase of elections began?
We were always clear that we will release the film around April. What we didn’t know at that time was that the polls would coincide with our release date. It’s sheer coincidence. After the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced, we couldn’t even move our film because the next few weeks were already taken by other films. We didn’t want to take a chance. My only job was to deliver the film on time with the scale intact. We shot in 38 days, but we researched and did all our math during the six months prior to that. We announced the film in December 2018. We wanted to announce it before that, but we were in two minds. Finally, we announced the film only when we went on floors.

Your film has consistently been accused of being a propaganda vehicle…
If that was true, everyone would make feature films for their election campaigns instead of doing some work in their respective constituencies. I have no inclination towards politics. I’ve attempted to make a clean, inspirational film, which touches upon everything, including the Gujarat riots. I don’t think I have made a film that can influence voters; I don’t think any film can do that.

Did you meet PM Narendra Modi?
No, because I didn’t want to be influenced. I wanted to keep the approach neutral. Vivek came with his own research and understanding of the character. Without making it caricaturish, he’s tried to capture the spirit of the man. He improvised the dialogue to such a degree that he’s been credited as the codialogue and screenplay writer of the film. His inputs were fantastic.