Omung Kumar B: I have not done a political film, I have done a human story

While director Omung Kumar B has given us amazing biopics in the past, his latest biopic starring Vivek Anand Oberoi titled PM Narendra Modi faced some issues before it released. However, the film finally saw the light of the day on May 24, and the film got mixed reviews. Some have termed the biopic as a propaganda film, but director Omung feels really proud of his latest cinematic offering. Here’s what he had to say to us in an exclusive interview…

PM Narendra Modi’s film has finally released after a lot of troubles, how does it feel?

Yes, finally is the word. We are ecstatic that there couldn’t be better timing for us. Whatever happens, happens for the best, and maybe this was the right time for it to release. All said and done, the producers underwent huge losses because of the ban that happened earlier. Yes, we got only four days to promote the film. But we always knew that elections get over on May 19, after which we got all our promotions back online. Maybe Modiji’s victory will help us. Besides that, the movie has been made with all our heart and soul.

Biopics have been your forte – Mary Kom, Sarbjit and now PM Narendra Modi. But did this biopic put a lot of pressure on you due to whose life it was based on?

Any biopic is somebody’s life that you are portraying, so obviously you have to be true to the person. And you are playing somebody’s character, so you have to think about what you are saying on the big screen. As a filmmaker, you also have to care for dramatism. But still, this was hard enough because he is the reigning Prime Minister. In the history of biographies, no one has made a film on the current running Prime Minister. Secondly, his aura is already in people’s mind, so we have to think about how you see it. How much heroism needs to be shown and how much doesn’t. He is a hero, he falters, and how he comes back…that is the zero-to-hero story we have done. A chaiwala becoming a PM is unheard of, and that is what attracted me to the film.

It’s a known fact that Dev Anand’s Guide was a Major inspiration for Modiji to serve the nation, how much cinematic liberty did you take there?

See, that is symbolism. There are a lot of things that happened that he said he was unclear about. As a child, he wanted to be a soldier, but he wanted to live a separate life also. There are subtle moments in the film, but the effect becomes a highlight. So, in a lot of issues, if he took two-three years with something, we had two or three scenes of it.

The term Chowkidaar was coined now and not during Modiji’s formative journey, so using it in the film was a conscious choice?

These are some things you have to take in context. Like in his childhood, it is shown that chai pe charcha acchi baat hai. These are small liberties that you take. If you take the word Chowkidaar that came in now, and if we put in the dialogue, he must have said it earlier…how do you know? Yes, copywriters write the lines, but he may have said it earlier. So, that liberty needs to be taken. The Pakistan bit ( his words on a fitting response if Pakistan attacked us) we had taken earlier, but with this current word, it also fits in here.

Vivek Oberoi has done a fabulous job in the film.

Vivek is a fantastic actor; he dedicated himself completely to the role. Moulding him into the character with prosthetics was secondary; a fine actor can change the course and make you believe that he is the person. You come and grow in the film; no one knew how Modiji looked earlier, so it was a good thing for me to show him in a different way. When I did Mary Kom, nobody said yes to Priyanka, they all asked me how can Priyanka be Mary Kom? Why not a North-Eastern girl? But when you saw the film, you believed in the character and now Priyanka is Mary Kom and vice versa. So, I could mould Vivek into the character because he is a fine actor. On purpose, I didn’t do the Mitron and go into caricature mode.

The film has faced quite a lot of trouble with the CBFC, then the EC created hurdles. At any point did you just think you would shelve the film completely?

Not at all, why would we do that? That time was not right to release, maybe this is the right time. We are proud of it, we have done it wholeheartedly, and we know what we are doing. So why shouldn’t we go ahead? Just because someone said it got banned, we wouldn’t get left behind.

Was it necessary to make Congress a punching bag just to highlight and glorify Modi’s political career?

I have not mentioned anybody’s name, I have not talked about one single person from the opposition in the film. I have not bashed up any opposition. It is basically a businessman who is non-existent ( in the real context), but he was instrumental in making stuff happen. I have not done a political film, I have done a human story.

Also, in the film, Manmohan Singh was mocked quite a bit. Was that needed?

There are two scenes in the film, one in the start and one in the end. And in one scene, we showed that he is not talking (which everyone says is the truth anyway), and it just became funny. I am not even saying that he is Manmohan Singh.

Have you decided on your next project?

No. If I do, and it doesn’t happen… so I don’t announce only. Earlier I have done this, but now, I don’t even want to announce what is happening next.

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