As I write this piece, it hasn’t quite been “ achche din ” for the film PM Narendra Modi . The Delhi Chief Electoral Office has issued a notice to the makers for purportedly violating the model code of conduct, and opposition parties have approached the Election Commission (EC) seeking postponement of the film’s release (slated for April 5) until the last phase of voting is over on May 19. There is also talk of the EC framing broader guidelines for the release and promotion of films that are political in nature while the model code of conduct is in force.
Meanwhile, the film’s latest promo has actor Vivek Anand Oberoi as onscreen Modi answering the question on why he has never apologised for Godhra: “ Maafi gunehgaar maangte hain aur kanoon saboot . (A wrongdoer asks for forgiveness and the law demands evidence.)”
On the face of it, the film may not have Modi or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on its credits, and its producer Sandip Ssingh may claim he does not belong to any political party, but that does not account for the fact that its first poster was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and that Oberoi has been invoking the party campaign line “ Modi hai toh mumkin hai ”. Films are known to have a long gestation period, but this one got made within a few months of launch and even managed to feature the party’s latest “chowkidar” slogan.
Media commentator Sudhish Pachauri says the film looks too bad “to be given any credence in the public domain” and is best ignored. The timing, however, makes one raise one’s eyebrows. The election year began with a celebration of the “surgical strikes” and “New India” with Bollywood’s Uri, where Modi was presented as a commendable and resolute PM. Then, this week saw the trailer launch of Eros Now’s original web-series titled Modi: Journey of a Common Man , directed by Umesh Shukla, which is set to start streaming, again rather conveniently, come April.
Still from Uri: The Surgical Strike
Decisive votes
The alchemy of politics and cinema, and of film stars’ connect with the masses, has always been cannily negotiated in the South. In the North, the engagement with film personalities on the part of politicians has mostly been on social terms — a photo-op affiliation of sorts — with the trend peaking during election season in the vague hope that the fan followings would turn into decisive votes.
Later, cinema was appropriated in less artful and more brazen ways by, say, a Bal Thackeray of the Shiv Sena. The film community was forced into turning allies or adversaries. Mob power was often let loose to threaten the fate of a film and its makers. In between, the nexus with the mafia also held the industry to ransom.
Santosh Desai, writer, columnist, and managing director and CEO of Future Brands., sees a continuum in how this works. According to him, popular film personalities might be widely followed, but they make for particularly vulnerable targets. Staying in line and aligning with the powerful, particularly in polarised times, becomes an insurance policy of sorts.
“Other than a few, film- walas are not particularly political. These are more business decisions,” says author-publisher Sudhanva Deshpande. Film buff and historian Pavan Jha says propaganda films are nothing new, citing the 1939 social drama Brandy Ki Botal , which was sponsored by the Congress. However, where Brandy Ki Botal addressed prohibition and Gandhian morality, this season’s use of the film industry is distinct in its unabashed promotion not so much of an ideology as of an individual. Each film is an image-building exercise for one man.
Poster of the film PM Narendra Modi
This harnessing of cinema by the ruling party is an unprecedented exercise. Pachauri refers to today’s film personalities variously as “ auzaar (tools)” and “proxy spokesperson and ally”. Filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan refers to the trend as a collusion of power and money. Biopics and political films are just one part of the larger modus operandi. Other aspects include selfies with stars, roping them in for social media campaigns, and more.
Image-making
A big part of this owes to the explosion of social media, says Jha. “The BJP understood its power and exploited it very well.” Political machinery coming together with film stars on social media translates into very visible image management. From the endorsement of the Swachh Bharat campaign with a movie to using stars to champion the #VoteKar initiative to filmstars actively engaging in trolling and political commentary on social media, it’s all par for the course.
Besides the propaganda films, it’s also interesting to see the narratives of many films over the past few years. From story lines that take off on government schemes to the rise of the new, aggressive, nationalist hero who wears his patriotism on his sleeve, as portrayed by Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, John Abraham, and now Vicky Kaushal, the on-screen notion of patriotism has taken on a life of its own.
In the midst of all this chest-thumping, the subtler nationalist narratives of a Chak De! India or Swades or Rang De Basanti have gotten lost.
However, as Deshpande points out, Bollywood is very sensitive to the way the wind blows. “If the direction changes, this narrative will change too.” he says.
