Release date of biopic on Narendra Modi advanced, will release a week before general elections

The release date of the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s life has been advanced by a week and is now slated to hit theatres a week before the first phase of general elections in the country.

Earlier, it was scheduled for release on April 12 — a day after the first phase of polling in 90 constituencies across 20 states. Polling will be held in seven phases altogether between April 11 and May 19 as per the dates announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the producer of the movie Sandeep Ssingh stated that it was being moved up on ‘public demand’ since there is ‘a lot of love and anticipation among the people’ and they should not have to ‘wait longer’ to watch it.

To be released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages, the movie stars Vivek Oberoi in the role of Narendra Modi and Manoj Joshi as Amit Shah. Production started on movie in January-end and the film had a tight shooting schedule in order to complete it.

On conditions of anonymity, a former Election Commissioner spoke to the morning daily Mid-Day and described the release of the movie to be ‘indirectly violating the code of conduct’ as laid down by the ECI in the run-up to the polls.

Adding that the movie could not be banned because ‘it is not made by a political party’, the former election commissioner pointed out that the movie was being ‘openly endorsed by party members’. Chief minister of Maharashtra and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was part of a launch of the movie. BJP president Amit Shah was apparently slated to release the poster of the film at an event.

The producer of the movie has however maintained that it is not a ‘propaganda film’.