Mumbai, May 27 (IANS): Ashok Pandit, producer of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' (2020) and president of the Indian Film and Television Directors Association, has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his far-sightedness and vision in relation to harnessing the soft power of Indian cinema.

The Prime Minister had dwelt at length on this subject in his exclusive interview with IANS on Monday. He disclosed how he reached out to members of the Hindi film fraternity, knowing fully well that some of them thought differently from him and the BJP, because he wanted to amplify the soft power of Indian cinema across the world.

Reacting to PM Modi's statement, Pandit told IANS that India is fortunate to have a visionary Prime Minister like Narendra Modi.

"He thinks digital, he turned India into a digital nation," Pandit said. "He recently honoured influencers with awards and he is the only politician to do that. Then he met people who are into gaming. These are the things that are in vogue and form the ecosystem of entertainment."

He added: "At the end of the day, actors, directors, writers and social media influencers are all entertainers. PM Modi is the man of today. Look how he completely changed the way the censor board operates."

Pandit said PM Modi had an active interest in cinema since the time he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

"Today, the world looks at India. Earlier, we used to look up to the West. Just a few days ago we got three major awards at the Cannes Film Festival. 'RRR' won an Oscar for Best Song," Pandit said to amplify PM Modi's point about the soft power of Indian cinema. And for getting it, unlike prime ministers in the past, Pandit described PM Modi as "truly a master communicator."