'The Accidental Prime Minister' trailer details Manmohan Singh-Congress conflict
What's the story
The Accidental Prime Minister released its first trailer today. The film that had formerly been praised for the striking similarity between the actors and the people they portrayed, showed us its potential in the trailer. The trailer shows Dr. Manmohan Singh's appointment as the Prime Minister of India, and his alleged conflict with the Gandhi family and Congress party. We decode the trailer here.
Cast
Excellent casting marks the films trailer
The film's cast includes Anupam Kher as Dr. Manmohan Singh and Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru, whose 2014 memoir The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh is the source material. German actress Suzanne Bernert plays Sonia Gandhi, Aahana Kumra and Arjun Mathur play Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi, respectively. Slated to release on January 11'19, the film's director is Vijay Gutte.
Trailer details
Drawing on Mahabharata, the trailer outlines Singh's conflict
The trailer starts with comparing Singh to Bhishma, Mahabharata's luckless warrior. It outlines how he has to fight one family instead of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the epic. We are then shown a series of interactions showing both Singh's humility and competence. However, we also see Singh's power being undermined by Sonia, as she uses him as a seat-warmer for Rahul's ascendancy.
Sonia Gandhi
Trailer shows Sonia as good old-fashioned villain
The trailer makes no delays in portraying Sonia as a good old-fashioned villain through 2 clear instances. Firstly, she prevents Singh from resolving the Kashmir conflict, as it would leave nothing for Rahul to do once he became Prime Minister. Secondly, she rejects Singh's resignation saying that Rahul could not take over at a time of consecutive crises, while constantly maligning Singh's character.
Personal
Anupam Kher is spot on in Manmohan Singh's portrayal
Further, as Singh, Anupam Kher gets the demure and quiet nature perfectly correct. Even Singh's voice is copied to a degree of near perfection by Kher. Notably, he had meditated, and watched innumerable videos of Singh for the part, and the effort has paid off.
Akshaye Khanna
Akshaye Khanna's confident Sanjaya Baru steals the show
While Kher amazes as Singh, Khanna steals the show as Baru. Confident, suave, passionate at times, he plays the role of Singh's advisor and analyst. The trailer shows that he is the narrator as well, since he often breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience to inform them of the internal conflict between the Prime Minister and the party he represented.
Opinion
If the film delivers, could it spell Congress' doom?
We had earlier remarked on the timing of the release of The Accidental Prime Minister and how it could harm Congress' election chances in 2019. While the film defends rather than maligns Singh, the explosive trailer portrays the Congress, and especially Sonia in a bad light. If the film has as much impact as the trailer, Congress could face trouble in the 2019 elections.