Supreme Court refuses to grant early hearing for a plea challenging release of Modi biopic

The Supreme Court declined to grant urgent hearing on the petition filed against the release of Vivek Oberoi-starrer 'PM Narendra Modi' on Friday. “What Modi biopic," asked Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi-led bench when an advocate attempted to mention the plea. In lighter vein, CJI reportedly said, “Have you seen it? At least we haven't seen it. We may perhaps watch it over the weekend and you can then perhaps mention.” The petition was filed against the Bombay High Court order, which had refused to interfere with the release of the ' Modi' biopic. 

Meanwhile, ahead of the much-anticipated release of the Narendra Modi biopic, lead actor of the film Vivek Oberoi has slammed those raising issue against the political drama. I don't understand why some people are overreacting like this. “Why are such senior and famous lawyers like Abhishek Singhvi ji and Kapil Sibal ji wasting time on filing a PIL on such a modest film? Don't know if they are scared of the film or of Chowkidar's 'danda',” Oberoi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

On the portrayal of the Prime Minister on the silver screen, Oberoi said that, “We are not projecting Modi ji as larger than life, he already is larger than life. We are not projecting him as a hero, he already is a hero ,not only for me but for crores of people in India and abroad. Its an inspirational story which we brought to the screen.”

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi director Omung Kumar had earlier said that he expected the biopic to be subjected to opposition, but the negativity around the film does not disturb him. Several political parties have asked to delay the release of the film as it violates model code of conduct. "I have blinkers. I don't look at what is happening or what people are saying. It is for producers to look into it. I don't let it bother me. When we took it on we knew it is a big film and people were going to talk about it, irrespective of whether we release the film during elections or not.

"We knew people will oppose it in some way. So I am not shaken or disturbed. I am not bothered about the trolls, there are people who are liking it and some are not," Omung told PTI in an interview.

On Monday, the Bombay High Court had refused to interfere with the release of the Vivek Oberoi-starrer biographical drama on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar noted that the Election Commission (EC) has already issued a notice to the makers of the film 'PM Narendra Modi' over allegations of breach of the model code of conduct in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

"The Election Commission has already taken note of the issue and shall deal with it," the court said. The bench disposed of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Satish Gaikwad, national president of the Republican Party of India (I), who said the film, if permitted to be released for public viewing, would violate the model code of conduct imposed by the EC.

The plea questioned the timing of the film's release and said if released, it was likely to earn the prime minister electoral mileage.

The petitioner urged the court to pass orders ensuring that it is not released this Friday, April 5, as scheduled. The EC, however, told the court that it had already sought replies from the filmmakers.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) told the court, through its counsel Advait Sethna, that it had already granted requisite certificates for the film's trailer on March 20.

He submitted that the film is scheduled to be examined for certification this Wednesday and would be cleared for release, if it meets all the requisite criteria.

Advocate Birendra Saraf, who appeared for the film's producers, argued that biopics on several politicians have been released for public viewing from time to time, and there would be no breach of the code of conduct if the movie was released.

The biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, featuring Vivek Oberoi, was supposed to release today.