New Delhi: Hours after the censor board cleared the way for Modi’s biopic, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday afternoon banned the film’s release during the poll period, saying it had the potential to “disturb level playing field during elections”.
The EC order came a day before the biopic was set to release on April 11 – the day the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections begin.
A copy of the EC’s order
The film, titled PM Narendra Modi, starring Vivek Oberoi and directed by Omung Kumar, has faced severe criticism from varied quarters. Opposition parties had filed a complaint asking the poll panel to postpone the release of the film till the Lok Sabha elections were over.
However, the producers had defended the film saying it had no links to the BJP and that they had “put in their personal money for the making” of the film.
Previously, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had called the biopic politically “motivated” and lacking in “artistic venture”. “The purpose of this film is only political – to get some extra mileage in the elections,” he said.
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Hitesh Jain, the lawyer for the producers, had, however, claimed that the film was not violative of the Model Code of Conduct as a biopic is “a biography in a visual medium” and if biographies are allowed to be sold then biopics should also be allowed to release.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition filed by a Congress activist seeking a stay on the film’s release, saying the EC would be an “appropriate” place to seek the redressal.
The apex court said it was not entertaining the petition for the stay on the release of the film as it was “premature” since the movie is yet to be certified by the censor board.
The plea had sought deferment of the biopic’s release till the completion of the coming Lok Sabha polls, alleging that it was designed to “manipulate, influence and impress viewers and voters”.