Omung Kumar in his film Prime Minister Narendra Modi: He is a hero figure and that's what I portrayed | Bollywood

Omung Kumar B, director of Prime Minister Vivek Oberoi, Narendra Modi, believes that his film is not propaganda and that its release during the electoral period was planned in order to attract a maximum of spectators. The filmmaker, who has delivered successful biographies such as Mary Kom and Sarabjit, considers Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a hero figure and claims that he was described in the same way in his film. In an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times, Omung explained why Vivek was the film's first choice, his choice of the subject and why it was propaganda. Excerpts:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi having won a second term, do you expect his victory to work wonders for the film?

I hope so. Having planned to make the film earlier and having it published during the election period was meant to be a highlight for us, not depending on any win. But it was postponed. Maybe everything is going well. We had planned that he (Prime Minister Modi) would come back to power on May 23 and that his victory would be enough, it will help us after all. All of India is celebrating, maybe it will help us.

Is it a coincidence that the release of the film coincided with the election season?

We were publishing the film in April when election dates were not announced. But the elections came and it was good for us. People are releasing their films on Eid and Diwali, the elections were a good time for us. If you make a movie about cricket, you might want to take it out during the World Cup to make some noise. We thought that the relevance of the policy would help the film, but it was postponed.

Vivek has been featured in very few movies for a very long time. Why was he chosen to play Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite the difference in age?

The age is essentially a prosthesis in the state. He is neither very old nor very young, he is in the middle. He was the first choice of Sandip Ssingh (co-producer) and myself. I judged the best Dramebaaz of India and Vivek was also present. It turns out that people thought we would work together and do something in the future. Sandip told me, "We are trying to do this for two years. What do you think of Vivek? I asked him to approach Vivek and he said yes. Finally, he looked at me saying, "Why do not you direct our movie". I said, "I'm not good at politics at all. I can not do political film. He said, "Well, do not make a political film. Do it your way. " That's why it happened to me in my style, which was a story inspired by the hero to scratch. I'm not inclined to politics, so I do not do that kind of movies. It's not a propaganda film, it's my style of film. It's dramatic because the life of the man is dramatic in itself and that's what I showed.

Vivek is a fantastic actor. He makes few movies but whatever he does, he stands out. It's a good actor and I always want good actors to be able to turn them into anything. And of course, prosthetics came into play.

You have already made two successful biopics – Mary Kom and Sarabjit. Why did you create a biopic about Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

This is an inspiring story. If someone said fifty years ago that this child would become the country's prime minister after his 60s, it's unbelievable. How did it go and who is this person who inspired me? He became the prime minister of India. And the world takes note of it because it never happened before. And now, with the second overwhelming victory he has won, it's unbelievable. There is something about this man and that's what I wanted to show in my movie. I like the movies zero heroes and that's what it is.

What does it mean to those who call it a propaganda film?

It's over. Before, people thought it was propaganda. I made a movie that happened by chance during the election period and we took advantage of it. People were in a political mood and would have liked to go see the movie. This is part of the journey of a man who is currently the Prime Minister of India. This is the first time in the history of cinema that a film has been shot on a ruling Prime Minister. That attracted me. There is too much going on in his life and it is heroism, he is a hero figure and that is what I have described in the movie. I did not make a documentary, it's cinema and that's why it's bigger than life. I'm going to give you goose bumps, I'll give the music and there will be a high. It's happened in my previous movies.

In Mary Kom, while she was leading her major fight, no one fell idle. His son was shown being operated on during the match. In real life, the operation took place three months before his boxing match. I just said that the news of her son's operation comes at a time when she has her match. It was add drama and no one opposed it.

Read also: PM Narendra Modi film review: Vivek Oberoi film divinizes PM

It is wrong to say that propaganda is a mistake, no one has paid us for this film. We have producers who have suffered losses and have had difficulty making this film. We know what we experienced when it was banned. If there had been propaganda, the film would have been released. But this has not been published, which means that no one supports us.

Many critics and moviegoers have stated that the representation of Vivek's character in the film was very positive, with no negative points. Your comments.

I've also shown negatives, but they do not talk about it. I've shown some positives because there are positives in his life. There are negative aspects – what he has experienced and I have also shown it. But if people think that it will only be fun if there is a problem and that person's life improves, and that's what I showed. I'm not saying a lie, it's just that we exaggerate in making movies. It's not a documentary. I do not apologize.

Author tweets @ ruchik87

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