Sanjay Leela Bhansali, famous for the controversial Padmaavat and the Bollywood-epic Devdas, has produced a film on the early years of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Promotional posters of Mann Bairagi were released on the occasion of Modi's 69th birthday. Translated as 'untold story', Mann Bairagi is expected to trace the journey of Modi from his days as a young participant in the Hindu fundamentalist organisation, RSS, and how he later rose to fight against odds and overcome several challenges before being elected.
Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar was one of two celebrities to have shared the poster for the film, wishing Modi a happy birthday as he did.
Bhansali received severe criticism for Padmaavat, as against convention, it showed a relationship between a Hindu princess and a Muslim 'invader'. The fact that the woman was a Hindu infuriated many Hindu religious organisations, although film critics and figures from across South Asian studies departments were more critical of the film's deeply prejudiced depiction of early Muslims in India. Bhansali himself has tried to maintain a cinematography that is defined by particularly Indian visuals, and in Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, he was thought to have done so successfully.
It is telling of India's new political environment that a living politician, and one in power, is being captured as a historical character in a film set to be released during his period in power. In Modi's second term, beyond tensions with Pakistan and the unconstitutional measures used against Kashmir, Modi's government has also sought to rob over a million Muslims in Assam of citizenship earlier this month.