Two Indian courts have dismissed legal bids to delay the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi this Friday, less than a week before the first round of voting begin in India’s general elections.
The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a petition by activists demanding a stay on the release of PM Narendra Modi, before voting on the grounds that its screening provided the prime minister with "unfair electoral mileage".
The Delhi High Court too ruled similarly against an appeal that argued the biopic cannot be independent of the political personality on whose name and life the biopic is based, and hence would "unduly" influence voters.
The film’s trailer features dramatic music and flag waving as it retells Mr Modi’s journey from a lowly tea seller in western Gujarat state to becoming prime minister in 2014 as head of India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
The two-minute-and-a-half teaser also portrays Mr Modi leading his followers and Indian soldiers in snowy terrain in the Himalayan disputed Kashmir region, before they face a fusillade of bullets from Muslim militants.
“If you strike us again, we’ll strike harder,” Mr Modi says brandishing the Indian flag and yelling “Glory to Mother India”.
Adopting a tough policy against Pakistan stand and inside insurgency-ridden Kashmir are the major themes of Mr Modi’s and the BJP’s election campaign.
The main Opposition Congress Party and other regional parties opposed to the BJP, however, view the biopic as a "naked and cynical political move" and have petitioned the Election Commission to delay its release till after the polls.
If the Commission rules in their favour it could also adversely affect a 10-part web-based series on Mr Modi’s life that too is due for release later this month.
The Modi biopic follows two other recently released political films in the run up to the elections.
The Accidental Prime Minister – a biopic of Mr Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh from the Congress Party – was released in January and portrayed him as a weak and ineffectual head of government.
Another film, Uri: The Surgical Strike, dramatised India’s covert military action inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir in September 2016 and significantly boosted Mr Modi’s image as a decisive and no-nonsense leader who deserved re-election.
Following Tuesday’s court ruling, the Election Commission of India that conducts and oversees all federal and provincial polls will now adjudicate on the matter.
Sandip Ssingh, the biopic’s producer and scriptwriter, said he was now hoping to release his film by April 5.
“We are happy that justice has been given to the film”, he declared, adding that he was merely endeavouring to tell the story of a great human being in order to ‘inspire’ all Indians.