Director Omung Kumar says that influencing the elections was never the aim of releasing the forthcoming biopic on Modi now. He just wanted to avoid a clash with KJo’s big multi-starrer. By Team Viva
What if one had to make a film on Mahatma Gandhi today? Or write a book on some great personality to pay them a posthumous tribute? The film’s/ book’s content would be based completely on research, oral histories, first person accounts and people’s perspectives. The content creator could never meet the person to know him better. But he would try to extrapolate a convincing vision nevertheless.
Director Omung Kumar says he did just that in his forthcoming biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi (played by actor Vivek Oberoi) and it should be just seen as an independent effort of recreating the life of a person he was inspired by and no other motive should be attributed to it. However, it has raised questions not because it recreates the life of the BJP’s prime ministerial hopeful but lionises him at a time of the Lok Sabha elections. Though the film was supposed to be released today, it has been stayed by the apex court till a hearing next week. Omung explains an early release in April had nothing at all to do with the polls. He just wanted to avoid a clash with the multi-starrer Kalank, which made his team apprehensive. “Initially, when it was scheduled to release on April 12, we had only five days to pick up business as Kalank’s release date was April 17. We wanted a bigger audience to watch the film. Polls were never the target.”
Of course, he quickly clarifies that there was nothing special about elections. “I am sure that questions would have been raised even if it was Eid, Diwali or Holi. The Opposition would have raised questions irrespective of the release date. After all, kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna.” But doesn’t he know of the model code of conduct? Omung clarifies that the film is his take on a personality and not an authorised biopic. While crafting his film, he did not try to meet the Prime Minister for a reason. “I never met him in person to get to know him for the film. I did not want my perspectives to be influenced. When a person talks about himself/herself, they wouldn’t give out everything. They would talk about what they’ve done. I would have been influenced by it and hence, I did not meet him. The film is completely based on my independent research,” says Omung.
He tells us that his 2016 film, Sarabjit was also created in the same way. “How could have I met Sarabjit?” he questions.
When one is working on projects that include politics, one’s personal and political perspectives are bound to change or get slightly influenced. The Mary Kom director clarifies that since he isn’t into “politics at all,” there are “zero political perspectives.” He says, “I am just making a film which is larger than life. It’s a film about a person’s journey and his inspiring life story. Even though the person has a political background, I am not looking at him through that prism. For me, it’s the story of a kid who served tea 60 years ago. And if at that time someone told me that this kid is going to rule the country one day, I simply wouldn’t have believed it.”
This is why, he says, he wanted to follow this story and know the answers to many questions like, “what did he do? How did he grow up? How did he get into politics and later into a political party? What was the process? I am disinterested in politics or even Elections. I am just making a film on someone’s journey that I found inspiring. This is the biggest story that we have today — a person’s journey from being the biggest zero to a superhero.”
It’s the personality of a person, “keeping aside that he is the Prime Minister,” that is being showcased here, he says. “I observed that people really like, love and worship him. A few people hate him as well. However, like or hate, being the citizen of this country, one cannot avoid him. I have included minute details — his looks, the way he talks, dresses, walks, the works — including the way he was when he was young.”
It was during the shooting of a reality show — India’s Best Draamebaaz — when Omung and Vivek bonded. “My mother suggested that I work with him.” Even though today he feels confident about his creation, Omung had apprehensions initially. He tells us, “In the middle of the show, Sandip (Ssingh, producer), my partner, told me about the film, which he was trying to make since three years. He had completed his research and asked me to take it up. I felt that it was a huge story, so I might not be able to do justice to it.”
However, Sandip’s faith made him take up the project. He says that, “He told me that you can mould any actor the way you want. But Vivek, undoubtedly a fantastic actor, immediately agreed to do the film as well. Somewhere down the line, it was destined to happen.”
He believes that this is not some “normal kahani” that he is showing, “rather the story of the biggest superhero that we have. This is indeed the first time in the history of cinema and our country that a biopic is being made on a living, working Prime Minister.”
The director tells us that he later realised that this was actually a “bonus” for him, which would make people remember him for long. He says, “This will always be talked about. Agar meri movie log bhul gaye (If people forget my film), it would mean that isn’t a good one. Standing out from the crowd is really important for me. If today I am remembered for making a biopic on India’s first female boxer (Mary Kom), I will be remembered for this as well.”
The time period between the announcement and the release date of the film was also very short. He explains, “The film was finished in 38 days, while most take 50 days. No content was compromised or cut short. Everything just fell in place.”
