Hyderabad, Dec 29 (DC): The controversial film, The Accidental Prime Minister, based on a book by Mr Sanjay Baru, media adviser to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has found no takers in the ‘Nizam district’, the distribution area which covers the Telugu states.
The norm is for distributors to book Bollywood movies 15-21 days ahead of the release, and those starring major actors a month in advance.
The Accidental Prime Minister is slated for release on January 11, but the slot is crowded by major releases locally.
The trailer of the film was released on December 27 and has been shared by the official Twitter handle of the BJP IT Cell.
Member of TS & AP Distributors Association, Mr P. Mutyala Ramdasu, told this newspaper, “Most distributors have not heard of the movie. Generally, big Bollywood stars attract distributors as they are assured of minimum returns.”
He said most theatres were booked for three major Telugu movies — Ram Charan Teja’s Vinaya Vidheya Rama, F2 starring Venkatesh and Varun Tej and NTR: Kathanayakudu, the biopic on N.T. Rama Rao starring Balakrishna — and the Rajanikanth starrer Petta (Tamil).
The Accidental Prime Minister revolves around Dr Manmohan Singh and the trailer shows him as a victim of Congress politics.
Local BJP legislator T. Raja Singh said he would arrange a special screening of the film in the state and promote it. “The truth has to reach the public. It is an important revelation of what one family did to the nation for 10 years,” he said.
@BJPIndia: Riveting tale of how a family held the country to ransom for 10 long years. Was Dr Singh just a regent who was holding on to the PM’s chair till the time heir was ready? Watch the official trailer of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister, based on an insider’s account, releasing on 11 Jan!
Former CM of J&K @OmarAbdullah tweeted As much (sic) as the Congress, its branches/ off-shoots and other well-wishers of Dr Manmohan Singh may find the movie disagreeable, we can’t talk about intolerance and then threaten to stop all screenings. Dr Singh’s record & legacy won’t be the product of one single movie or book.
Maharashtra Youth Congress leader Satyajeet Tambe Patil tweeted, “As BJP has tweeted trailer of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister movie from their official Twitter handle. it is now evident that it is BJP’s propaganda/ campaign movie. Hence we don’t even want to see this campaign movie of BJP and we withdraw our demand of special screening.”