PM
Narendra
Modi,
featuring
actor
Vivek
Oberoi
in
the
titular
role,
hit
screens
on
Friday
(May
24,
2019)
and
opened
to
a
decent
response
at
the
box
office.
The
film,
directed
by
Omung
Kumar,
was
originally
supposed
to
release
on
April
12
but
could
not
because
of
an
Election
Commission
order.
During
an
EXCLUSIVE
interview
with
FilmiBeat,
Omung
Kumar
spoke
about
directing
the
ambitious
biopic
and
his
reaction
to
the
delayed
release.
What
encouraged
you
to
cast
Vivek
Oberoi
in
the
film?
Vivek
is
a
fantastic
and
superb
actor.
He
gives
his
whole
heart
(to
a
role).
Sandeep
Singh,
who
had
been
working
on
the
project
for
two
years,
asked
me
'what
do
you
think
of
Vivek
as
Modi?'.
Then
we
approached
Vivek
and
he
immediately
said
'yes'.
The
problem
was
that
I
was
not
supposed
to
direct
the
movie.
I
am
not
politically-inclined.
When
I
came
on
board,
I
directed
it
in
my
own
way.
I
get
inspired
by
'zero
to
hero'
stories.
For
me,
the
Modi's
story
is
the
chaiwallah
who
became
the
Prime
Minister.
Once
the
make-up
was
on,
Vivek
looked
like
Modiji.
When
you
see
the
film,
you
will
start
growing
with
it.
PM
Modi
is
considered
to
be
a
mass
leader.
Did
this
put
additional
pressure
on
you?
This
is
the
first
time
that
a
movie
is
being
made
on
a
ruling
Prime
Minister.
So
there
was
added
pressure.
The
person
comes
with
a
certain
aura
that
is
larger
than
life
and
the
film
has
to
match
up
and
become
larger
than
life.
Moreover,
this
is
not
a
documentary
as
I
am
making
an
edge-of-the-seat
entertainer.
What
type
of
research
did
you
do
while
working
on
PM
Narendra
Modi?
I
read
a
lot
of
books
and
met
a
lot
of
people.
We
saw
his
house
and
got
a
lot
of
anecdotes.
We
also
had
to
understand
his
mannerisms.
Vivek
does
not
sound
like
PM
Modi
in
the
trailer.
If
you
try
copying
the
voice
on
screen
it
becomes
a
caricature.
Here
he
is
speaking
in
his
normal
way
but
the
Gujarati
tone
is
there,
the
gruffly
feel
is
there
and
so
are
the
one-liners.
We
have,
however,
incorporated
his
mannerisms.
How
did
you
react
to
the
film
getting
banned
a
day
before
its
release?
Initially,
we
reacted
quite
badly
because
nahi
hona
chahiye
tha.
One
day
before
you
can't
ban
a
film
so
it
was
a
shocker
to
us.
We
were
hurt
at
the
time.
But
maybe
everything
happens
for
best.
Now,
things
have
fallen
in
place.