Election season is just around the corner and biopics based on politicians is becoming a trend. With several Narendra Modis, appeared or about to appear on screen soon, Rahul Gandhi is also in the list to get a biopic.
The film titled ‘My Name Is ‘RaGa” is directed by Rupesh Paul and it stars Aswini Kumar as Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Himant Kapadiya as Prime Minister Modi and Raju Kher as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The shooting of the film is almost complete and it narrates the story from Rahul’s childhood when Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 to the upcoming elections.
Journalist-turned-director Rupesh Paul informed, “My film starts with Rahul Gandhi’s childhood and continues to the present when he is mired in political controversies. It’s about his life as a student in the US to become the president of the Indian National Congress.”
Paul said that he didn’t have to get in touch with the Gandhi family or any other politician for the permission, because “all the information is in the public domain”. He said that since the film is based only on facts “there is no need to get any clearance”.
“If we keep the names aside, it’s a story of every man who has gone through multiple and repeated failures before tasting success. I was deeply inspired by his fight which I saw closely as a journalist,” shared the filmmaker.
Talking about the cast he said, “I wanted to get bigger names on board but in the current political scenario, everyone is wary. I am still trying to get a significant actor on board for the remaining portions.”
He added, “After rejections from many actors (whom he doesn’t wish to name), I was surprised Raju sir agreed to play Manmohan Singh. He has given a different arc to it.”
About the censor board clearance, he retorted, “I don’t think there will be an issue because the intention isn’t to malign anyone.”
Answering the question on the film ‘The Accidental Prime Minister‘ he said, “I accepted the film but not its tone. The director should have done justice to the film by staying true to real-life incidents. But it has opened a new genre in Bollywood, giving us the courage to make political films.”