The triumph of Modi propaganda in Bollywood
As election season looms, a spate of recently released films seem to be directly channelling the Indian prime minister’s policies, presence and rhetoric
- I n May 2014 , when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a commanding majority at a general election after 30 years of coalition governments, an Indian magazine called Open published a cover story about the victory headlined “Triumph of the Will”.
- Despite widespread derision over the “Triumph of the Will” cover on social media, the magazine for its part has kept quiet.
- In The Accidental Prime Minister , Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh is portrayed as a puppet of the prominent Nehru-Gandhi family – the so-called first family of Indian politics as three of its members have been prime minister.
- A biopic on the prime minister has been announced starring Indian actor Vivek Oberoi, who is credited in promotional materials as Vivek Anand Oberoi.
- Interestingly, Vivekananda’s real name was Narendranath, a longer version of the prime minister’s first name Narendra.