A shoddy attempt: 'The Accidental Prime Minister' lacks both depth, focus

Manmohan Singh, who was pilloried by the press as a “weak prime minister”, famously claimed at the end of his tenure that “history will be kinder to me”. His stock has risen since his exit after a turbulent second term, and The Accidental Prime Minister, much like the book that it is based on, judges him kindly. But the makers of the movie have little reason to anticipate a rousing reception, now or later.

A breezy but shallow account, focussed mainly on the first term of the Congress-led alliance, tries to cover a lot of ground in 110 minutes. The result is a hack job, which is becoming a norm in Bollywood amid an outbreak of biopics and movies sympathetic to the “nationalistic” causes espoused by the Bharatiya Janata Party government.

The film, starring Anupam Kher in the title role, predictably ran into controversy even before its release, given its timing with months to go before the general election.

The memoir by Sanjaya Baru, who was Singh's media adviser between 2004 and 2008 during his first term, was a defence of the former prime minister at a time he was ridiculed as a feckless leader. Baru argued in the book that in his first term despite interference from Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the everyday functions of the Prime Minister's Office, Singh held his own and even steered the party to re-election shortly after a health scare in 2009. He called the Indo-US civil nuclear deal the “crowning glory” of Singh's first term, lauding him for unacknowledged political shrewdness reflected in his ability to cobble together new allies after the Left parties withdrew support.

The film, helmed by first-timer Vijay Ratnakar Gutte (accidental director?), touches upon all of this. Akshaye Khanna is cast as Baru, but an exaggerated and at times amusing role — he is an actor as well as the narrator addressing the audience directly — weakens the narrative. Besides Kher, Khanna, too, gets a bulk of the screen time and a range of emotions in a film with seemingly monotonous characters. Wouldn't it have been better to get a fly-on-the-wall “report” from the figure of Baru, a former journalist?

True, Singh and Gandhi are two of the most inscrutable personalities in Indian politics. But Kher's portrayal leaves an impression of a pusillanimous leader who is perpetually subdued. Why, for instance, is there not a trace of the “disarming smile” Baru in his book suggested Singh deployed to win over critics?

If you want insights into Singh's personality, there are none here. German actor Suzanne Bernert does a sound impersonation of Gandhi's accent and mannerisms, but little else. As do Arjun Mathur (Rahul Gandhi) and Aahana Kumra (Priyanka Gandhi). The episodic storyline also denies any substantial role to many prominent politicians, who flit in and out of frames, and ends up largely pitying Singh and villainising the Gandhi family.