A contentious biopic about India’s polarizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, titled “PM Narendra Modi,” will finally release on April 11. That is the same day that the mega exercise that is the Indian elections begins. The film has been put together remarkably quickly, with principal photography commencing Jan. 28. It was due in theaters on April 12, with release then brought forward to April 5. Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress, had petitioned the Election Commission to delay the film’s release until after the polls close on May 19, on the grounds that it was propaganda for the incumbent prime minister and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Producers announced that the film will release simultaneously in 38 countries. The film is directed by Omung Kumar, who previously directed boxer biopic “Mary Kom,” starring Priyanka Chopra, and produced by Legend Global Studio (“Bhoomi”). It stars Vivek Oberoi (“Company”). “Thank you to each and every one of you for your blessings, love and support,” Oberoi tweeted. “Thank you to the Indian Judiciary. We hope you like the film and that it inspires you all!” Meanwhile, “Modi: Journey Of A Common Man,” a 10-part Eros Now Original series, directed by Umesh Shukla (“102 Not Out”) is now streaming, with no objections from opposition parties. “The Accidental Prime Minister”, an unflattering portrait of former Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, released in January and flopped. https://twitter.com/sandip_Ssingh/status/1114166429383897088<doc-sep>Jobs Indian National Congress - Fill 400,000 vacancies in various state organisations, the judiciary and parliament by 31 March 2020 - Angel taxes imposed on start-ups to be withdrawn immediately - Application fees for government examinations and government posts to be abolished. Bharatiya Janata Party - Increase public and private investment in infrastructure that will also lead to creation of a large number of jobs - Ensure 10% quota for economically weak sections of society in government jobs and higher education institutes Farmers Indian National Congress - Not allow criminal proceedings to be instituted against any farmer unable to repay debt - Present a separate “farmers budget” to ensure priority is given to agricultural issues - Redesign the current government’s crop insurance scheme which has not been beneficial to farmers Bharatiya Janata Party - Double farmers’ income by 2022 - A scheme to ensure financial support to small and medium farmers will be expanded to cover all farmers - Introduce a pension scheme for small farmers and traders Income Support Indian National Congress - Guarantee an income for 50 million of India's poorest families - A government programme that guarantees 100 days of paid work to every rural household will be increased to 150 days Bharatiya Janata Party - Bring down the percentage of families living below the poverty line to a single digit in the next five years - Ensure a permanent house for every family. - Give gas cylinder connections to all poor rural households Economy and Taxes Indian National Congress - Reform the Goods and Services Tax introduced by the government - Achieve a fiscal deficit target of 3% of GDP by 2020-21 - Enact the Direct Taxes Code within one year of government - Work with the central bank to simplify the procedures banks use to verify customers Bharatiya Janata Party - Simplify the Goods and Services Tax in consultation with all stakeholders - Make capital investment of Rs.100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector - Launch a new scheme to provide collateral-free credit up to five million rupees for entrepreneurs. - Promote and encourage start-ups through creation of a ‘Seed Start-up Fund’ Education Indian National Congress - Pass a law to provide for quotas to disprivileged people in private higher education institutions - Primary and secondary education in public schools to be compulsory and free - Double the allocation for education to 6% of GDP - Introduce vocational training as a compulsory component of the syllabus Bharatiya Janata Party - Increase the number of admissions in central law, engineering, science and management institutions by at least 50%. - Set up a medical college in every district - Establish teacher training institutes Women Indian National Congress - Pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill to provide for reservation of 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha. - Every Special Economic Zone shall have working women’s hostels and safe transport facilities to increase the participation of women in the labour force. - Sufficient night shelters will be built for migrant women workers. Adequate number of safe and hygienic public toilets for women will be provided in towns and cities. Sanitary napkin vending machines will be installed in public spaces,schools and colleges. - Review the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces Act, 2013 and extend the Act to all workplaces. - Launch a programme to appoint an Adhikar Maitri in every Panchayat to serve as a paralegal to educate women on, and assist them in, their legal rights. Bharatiya Janata Party - Ensure justice for Muslim women by enacting a law against triple talaq (instant divorce) - Formulate a roadmap to increase female workforce participation. - Number of childcare facilities to be increased three fold by 2022. - Sanitary pads to be provided to all women and girls for just one rupee ($0.014) - Bring 33% reservation in parliament and state assemblies for women Health Indian National Congress -Guarantee every citizen the right to healthcare services - Double the total government expenditure on healthcare to 3% of GDP by 2023-24 - Ensure that mental healthcare professionals are appointed at all public district hospitals and that mental healthcare services are made freely available - Trauma and Emergency Centres to be established on all national and state highways Bharatiya Janata Party - Establish 150,000 new health and wellness centres - Increase the doctor-population ratio to 1:1,400 - Improve facilities at existing Health and Wellness Centres by 2022<doc-sep>India’s independent election body has dramatically blocked the release of a controversial biopic on the life of prime minister Narendra Modi, which was due to hit cinemas on Thursday just as the country’s general election gets underway. Opposition parties had complained that the Bollywood film would unfairly favour Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as he seeks re-election for a second term. Voting in the mammoth, six-week election begins tomorrow in 91 of the 545 seats in India’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, and will conclude on 19 May, with results to follow a few days later. It comes as Bollywood stars have taken on an increasingly important and polarised role in the election season, where traditionally actors would consider backing any single party a risky career move. Surprisingly, it has been not manifestoes or major speeches but the issue of the Modi biopic that has dominated news about the election in recent days. Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Show all 20 1 /20 Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Best photos from India's Republic Day parade "Daredevils" motorcycle riders from Indian Army's Corps of Signals regiment take part in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Indian school children perform during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade India celebrated its 70th Republic Day AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade A tableau of the Indian of Delhi is displayed at the Rajpath EPA Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Indian Paramilitary soldiers march past Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard AP Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AP Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade EPA Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade "Daredevils" motorcycle riders from Indian Army's Corps of Signals regiment take part in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade EPA Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade Reuters Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AFP/Getty Best photos from India's Republic Day parade AP With a self-confessed fan of the prime minister, Vivek Oberoi, in the titular role, PM Narendra Modi tells the story of how the politician rose from being a Gujarati tea-seller to lead the country. Producers have defended the film, saying they have no links to the BJP or wishes to influence the result of the general election. Director Omung Kumar, in a recent interview, said he was “not politically inclined” and that the timing of the release was simply a commercial decision. “Of course we will benefit,” he said. “Why shouldn’t we? If other producers benefit out of Diwali, Christmas and Holi, are we [not] doing the same?” The film’s release appeared set to go ahead, as the industry’s certification board cleared it on Tuesday and gave it a “U” rating, meaning it was appropriate for all viewers. But on Wednesday afternoon, an order was issued by the Election Commission of India stating that any “biopic material in the nature of biography/hagiography” risked violating the election code of conduct. PM Narendra Modi, it said, “has the potential to disturb the level playing field during the elections”, and therefore “should not be displayed” in any format until after the polls have closed. Congress leader Kapil Sibal has previously described the biopic as clearly “politically motivated” and lacking in “artistic venture”. “The purpose of this film is only political – to get some extra mileage in the elections,” he said. The backlash against the film was not only about the influence it might have on cinemagoers. In Delhi, the chief electoral officer condemned full-page adverts for the film that appeared in two major Hindi dailies as “a clear case of surrogate [political] advertising”. In his report, electoral officer K Mahesh said the adverts had been booked by Acharya Manish, a producer for the biopic who had “strong political inclinations” towards the prime minister. Though political advertising is not strictly banned in India’s elections, all instances must be pre-approved by the election authorities so that any spending is accounted for. Approval had not been sought in this case, Mr Mahesh said. Also on Wednesday, an account by the Reuters news agency described how Mr Modi had actively reached out to influential figures in Bollywood in a bid to use their soft power as part of his election campaign. It recalled a meeting on 10 January in which the prime minister flew a dozen of Bollywood’s biggest names in a private jet to the capital Delhi for a private audience, after which stars including Ranveer Singh, who has nearly 22 million followers on Instagram, posted pictures of themselves hugging and smiling with Mr Modi. Mr Modi asked the filmmakers and stars to “talk about patriotism, and Indian culture and values”, in their films, said producer Mahaveer Jain. “He recognises the soft power of Bollywood, and the impact it can have.” ✕ Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Joyojeet Pal, a University of Michigan professor who has analysed Mr Modi’s social media feed since 2009, said: “There is perhaps no politician in the history of Indian politics who has been able to create a celebrity outreach programme like Narendra Modi.” Since the meeting, Bollywood has released three movies with lead actors in prime ministerial roles. They include the year’s biggest box office smash, Uri: The Surgical Strike, a film about a 2016 operation targeting alleged terrorist training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Since the start of the year, Mr Modi has made national security his number one talking point for the election.<doc-sep>The Election Commission of India has stopped the release of ‘PM Narendra Modi', a biopic on the Prime Minister till the completion of Lok Sabha elections, saying any such film that subserves purpose of any political entity or individual should not be displayed in the electronic media. The EC order came a day before the movie was to be released. The first phase of Lok Sabha elections starts Thursday. The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a Congress activist seeking stay on the release of the biopic and said the Election Commission would be an "appropriate" place to seek the redressal. The apex court said it was not entertaining the petition for the stay on the release of the film as it was "premature" since the movie is yet to be certified by the Censor Board. It said even if the film is released on April 11, as claimed by the Congress activist, it will be appropriate for him to seek redressal from the Election Commission. The plea had sought deferment of the biopic's release till the completion of the coming Lok Sabha polls, alleging that it was designed to "manipulate, influence and impress viewers and voters". Read the Supreme Court's order here. (PTI) For in-depth, objective and more importantly balanced journalism, Click here to subscribe to Outlook Magazine<doc-sep>
India’s election commission has halted the release of a controversial film about the life of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, on the eve of the first day of voting in the country’s nationwide elections. The film PM Narendra Modi was set to be released in cinemas on Thursday, when Indians start voting in 91 seats across the country. A poster promoting the film PM Narendra Modi, with the tag line ‘Patriosm is my strength’. Photograph: Legend Global Studio Several opposition parties had argued the film was a hagiographic depiction of Modi’s life that amounted to a disguised political advertisement and should be banned until after the last phase of voting on 19 May. On Wednesday, India’s election regulator said the release of the Modi movie and two other biographical films about political figures would be deferred until after the polls so as not to “disturb the level playing field during the elections”. India’s stringent election rules demand all official advertisements be counted towards a party’s spending cap and receive pre-approval from the authorities. Television channels are required to give equal hearings to all major parties and campaigning must stop 48 hours before voting begins. In the past Indian election commission officers have ordered that elephant statues be covered up during campaigns involving a party whose icon is the pachyderm, and that cooling fans in a voting station be removed so as not to favour a candidate who had adopted the fan as his official symbol. Had it been released the film would have been screened throughout the election campaign and its poster – depicting Modi surrounded by children under the tagline “patriotism is my strength” – could have been freely displayed. It had been the subject of a war of words between the filmmakers and the main opposition Congress party. Vivek Oberoi, the actor and Modi supporter who plays the titular character, had said last week that Congress was “scared of the film”. A Congress spokesman had responded saying the movie was a “bogus film of a flop hero, a flop producer and is made on a flop person who has proved to be a zero”. The film portrays different stages of the Indian leader’s life including his childhood as a chaiwala selling tea at railway stations, his time as a wandering sage in the Himalayas and the years he spent disguised in a beard and turban as a fugitive during the 1975 emergency, when the country’s civil liberties were suspended.