New Delhi: The biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a “hagiography”, which treats the subject with undue reverence, and its public screening during poll campaign will “tilt the electoral balance”, the Election Commission has told the Supreme Court while opposing the release of the movie starring Vivek Oberoi before the polls end on May 19.
In its 20-page report submitted to the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the film titled ‘PM Narendra Modi’, the poll panel said that the biopic “creates a political environment where an individual acquires cult status” and its public screening during the period when model code of conduct is in operation would favour a particular political party.
The EC said “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.”
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It said that the biopic was more than a biography and was a “hagiography” (which treats the subject as saint and gives undue reverence) and the construct of the movie was “unabashedly one-dimensional”, which puts an individual on a higher pedestal through use of specific symbols, slogans and scenes.
The report was submitted after the apex court had on April 15 directed the EC to reexamine its earlier order and take an informed decision on banning pan-India the release of the biopic after watching the full movie.
