SC won’t lift stay on release of Narendra Modi biopic till conclusion of LS Polls

The Supreme Court has backed the Election Commission in refusing to lift the stay on release of the biopic on PM Narendra Modi until conclusion of the Lok Sabha polls.

"We are not inclined to interfere", The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, dismissed a plea by the producers of the film starring actor Vivek Oberoi in the titular role saying, “We are not inclined to interfere”.

The ECI has told the SC that the Modi biopic is a hagiography which treats the subject with undue reverence and its public screening during the polls would "tilt the electoral balance".

The poll panel, in its 20-page report submitted to the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said that the biopic "produces a political environment where an individual acquired cult status" and its public screening during the period when the model code of conduct is in operation would favor a particular political party.

“There are several scenes depicting a major opposition party as corrupt and showing them in poor light. Their leaders have been depicted in such a manner that their identification is clear and obvious to the viewers," the ECI said.

The biopic was a hagiography and its construct was "unabashedly uni-dimensional", which puts an individual on a higher pedestal through use of specific symbols, slogans and scenes.

The EC submitted its report after the SC on April 15 directed it to re-examine its earlier order and take an informed decision on banning the release of the film pan India.

"The committee is of the considered view that the public screening of the movie 'PM Narendra Modi' during the period of model code of conduct will tilt the electoral balance of the particular political party, therefore, the public screening of the movie 'PM Narendra Modi' should not be allowed till the last date of poll on May 19 in the ongoing elections,” the report said.

The report further said, "Eulogising of the character Narendra Modi is very clear right through the movie. More than biography, it is hagiography."

“The biopic produces a political environment where an individual acquired cult status. The construct of this 135-minute movie is unabashedly uni-dimensional, which puts an individual on a higher pedestal through use of specific symbols, slogans and scenes. It ends up eulogising an individual, giving him a saintly status,” it said.