Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Thackeray (2019) showed the late Shiv Sena founder-leader Bal Keshav Thackeray as a hero of the masses of Maharashtra. But Narendra Modi’s character in his biopic PM Narendra Modi has been made to look so heroic that it ventures into the totally filmi zone.
At least that is the impression you get when you watch the trailer for the film, which stars Vivek Anand Oberoi as Modi.
Citizens of India know Modi as someone who started from a humble background and went on to become prime minister of the country. But the movie shows him like you have never imagined him before. For example, imagine him trying to duck under a hail of bullets while holding aloft a huge flag and yelling ‘Bharat mata ki jai!’!
The trailer also has a scene where Modi is angrily sending out a strong message across to Pakistan for fostering terrorism. How much of the events shown in the trailer are true and how much creative liberty has been taken is difficult to know.
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Besides being one of independent India’s most powerful leaders, Narendra Modi is also one of the most controversial, with the spectre of the 2002 riots in Gujarat haunting him. The trailer does not evade this incident and a sorrowful Modi is seen shedding tears over the events.
PM Narendra Modi looks good technically as the film has been shot on a large canvas. But the same can’t be said of Vivek Oberoi’s casting as the prime minister. The actor is not bad, but he does not remind you of Modi, let alone look similar.
Directed by Omung Kumar, the film will be released on 5 April. Watch the trailer below and let us know how keen you are to watch PM Narendra Modi.