The Accidental Prime Minister (film)
| The Accidental Prime Minister | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Vijay Ratnakar Gutte |
| Produced by | |
| Written by |
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| Based on | The Accidental Prime Minister by Sanjaya Baru |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Sudip Roy Sadhu Tiwari |
| Cinematography | Sachin Krishn |
| Edited by | Praveen K. L. |
Production
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Release date
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| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The Accidental Prime Minister is an upcoming 2019 Indian biographical film directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari, based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru. It was produced by the Bohra Bros under Rudra Production (UK), in association with Jayantilal Gada under the banner of Pen India Limited. It stars Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, the economist, and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance.
Cast
- Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of Republic of India during 2004 to 2014.
- Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru, political commentator.
- Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi, former president of Indian National Congress.
- Aahana Kumra as Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Sonia Gandhi.
- Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi, son of Sonia Gandhi
- Abdul Quadir Amin as Ajay Singh
- Vimal Verma as Lalu Prasad Yadav
- Avter Saini as Lal Krishna Advani
- Anil Rastogi as Shivraj Patil
- Ajit Satbhai as P. V. Narasimha Rao, former prime minister of India .
- Chitragupta Sinha as P. V. Ranga Rao, Elder son of P.V.Narasimha Rao
Production
Principle photography begun on 31 March 2018 in London. The London-based shooting schedule concluded on 21 April 2018. In India, most of the shoot occurred in New Delhi which later wrapped up on 4 July 2018.
Marketing and release
The first look of the film was released on 6 June 2017 through Anupam Kher's official Twitter handle. Fresh poster of the film giving date of release of the film and trailer presented on 27 December 2018. With launch of new poster the release date has been advanced to 11 January 2019.
A new look poster of the film has been released by TAP official on 3 January 2019.
In 2017, former Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani had said that the filmmakers will need to obtain a No-objection certificates from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi for the film.
Controversy
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promoted the trailer through their official Twitter account. Reacting to this, a Congress spokesperson alleged that the film was "political propaganda".
Upon the release of the trailer, the Congress party’s Maharashtra youth wing in a letter to the producers of the films raised objections to the “incorrect presentation of the facts” and demanded a special screening of the film. They later withdrew the order, intending to not publicize the film.
On 2 January 2019, lead actor Anupam Kher tweeted that people were reporting that the film's trailer was unseen as a top search result while being directly searched for on Youtube. The newspaper India Today conducted their own search, and confirmed Kher's allegations, noting that only after the following day was the trailer returned to its position as a top search result. This lead to speculation that the trailer had initially been removed intentionally as part of an anti-propaganda campaign.
Historical accuracy
A Firstpost article flet that the trailer of the film, seemed to suggest that Sanjaya Baru was the media advisor and chief spokesperson of Manmohan Singh during 2011 period of scams. However, Baru was only in this position during May 2004 to August 2008.
