After Vivek Oberoi tried (and miserably failed) to capture the ‘larger-than-life’ of PM Narendra Modi, one would imagine that similar films would demand cautious handling. After the release of Omung Kumar’s PM Narendra Modi, two more films have been released/announced. Chalo Jeete Hai, directed by Mangesh Hadawale and reportedly based on Narendra Modi’s childhood, went on to win the National Award for being the Best Film on Family Welfare. And now, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has announced Mann Bairagi – an hour-long film on Narendra Modi’s youth.
While the poster of the film was unveiled by Prabhas during a press interaction, on Twitter the poster was shared by Akshay Kumar.
Happy to present the first look of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mahaveer Jain’s special feature, #MannBairagi on the defining moment of our PM’s life on his birthday! #HappyBirthdayPMModi@narendramodi @PMOIndia @bhansali_produc pic.twitter.com/zWbGLScLDe
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) September 17, 2019
Mann Bairagi roughly translates to ‘the mind of a sage’, which seems to be playing into the notion about the Prime Minister being a fakir, who doesn’t want anything for himself.
Speaking to Hindustan Times in an exclusive report, Bhansali was quoted as saying – “the story was very well-researched, and the turning point of our PM’s life as a young man, really intrigued me. I felt that it’s an unheard story which needs to be told.” Written and directed by Ssanjay Tripathi, the film promises yet another ‘untold’ story about someone in power. Remember what happened the last time Bollywood promised an ‘untold story’ in MS Dhoni’s biopic? The director was quoted as saying that the film is about a man’s journey of self-discovery, who went on to become the Prime Minister.
According to other reports, Bhansali is also trying to develop a film around the Balakot Strikes, that will have a central character modelled on IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. However, Vivek Oberoi has beat Bhansali to the film on Abhinandan Varthaman too.
The PM turns 69 today, and the Mann Bairagi makers couldn’t have chosen a better date to announce the film. But that doesn’t always translate to a box office bumper. Right, Vivek Oberoi?
