Congress objects to The Accidental Prime Minister, BJP promotes Vijay Gutte's film through official handle

As expected of any political film in India, Vijay Gutte's The Accidental Prime Minister (2019) has run into trouble with the Congress party. The youth wing of the party in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Youth Congress have written to the makers demanding a screening of the film for clearance, before it is screened in theatres. 

ANI reported that Satyajeet Tambe Patil, president of Maharashtra State Youth Congress, has sent out a letter to the makers of the film raising 'objections about the incorrect presentation of facts'. 

Warning the makers, Patil also threatened that, unless the makers choose to show the film to the Congress party for clearance, they will not allow it to be screened anywhere in the country. 

The letter states, "If the said movie is released without prior screening for our office bearers and without making necessary changes recommended by us that we find out after viewing the movie it will be understood that you are doing this deliberately and we have other options open to stop the screening of the same across India." 

The statement is a volte-face from the party which vehemently opposed similar protests against Padmaavat (2018). In fact, president of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi had blamed the ruling BJP government for giving a 'free hand' to violent elements. 

On the other hand, the BJP has officially promoted Vijay Gutte's film using their official Twitter handle, coming in for criticism. 

The Accidental Prime Minister (2019) is based on the book, The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh, by Dr Sanjaya Baru. The film delves into the life and times of India's former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, during his tenure as the head of the Indian government. 

The film is directed by Vijay Gutte, and features Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, while Akshaye Khanna takes on the role of Sanjaya Baru. It is due to released in theatres on 11 January 2019.