Premier act: Vivek Oberoi as Narendra Modi vs Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh

As the poster of the film PM Narendra Modi was released, twitterers went wild with Oberoi-as-Modi-inspired memes

Who: Five years ago, the country was bombarded with the “Achhe din aane waale hain (Good days are coming)” advertising blitz for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. Now, with the next Lok Sabha election upon us, the clamour to have Modi back for a second term has found other kinds of creative — and lucrative — outlets. We’ve already got a taste of Modi-inspired fashion and merchandise, especially the “Modi jacket”, though how different it is from the Nehru jacket is a question that has triggered many a Twitter battle. And now we have Modi hoodies, thanks to BJP MP Anurag Thakur who turned up in Parliament this week wearing a blue and orange hoodie with the words “Namo Again!” printed on it in saffron. No sooner did Modi retweet Thakur’s picture with the comment “Looking good” than a race to be seen in them broke out among BJP supporters. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot posted a picture of himself with the message, “I have worn it, have you worn it or not? ...” With that a hoodie challenge started, with Thakur tagging Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and even Uttar Pradesh’s monk Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who’s always seen in a saffron dhoti-kurta.

While the hoodie kept social media abuzz, it failed to match the enthusiasm actor Vivek Oberoi generated with the news that he would be playing Modi in an upcoming biopic, PM Narendra Modi. As the poster of the film was released, twitterers went wild with Oberoi-as-Modi-inspired memes.

What: The poster shows Oberoi, who has done some critically acclaimed roles in the past but has been out of public memory, wearing a Modi look, complete with snow-white hair and full-sleeve saffron kurta, standing in front of the Indian flag, looking straight at you. Does he look like Modi? Alas, no. Will he be able to portray him authentically? Who knows? Oberoi has been known to surprise — and disappoint. And now he is also making many laugh, and some angry.

How: Among the first to react to the news was National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who tweeted: “Life is unfair. Dr Manmohan Singh got someone of the calibre of Anupam Kher. Poor Modi ji has to settle for Vivek Oberoi. Salman Khan hota toh kya maza aata.” The comparison was with another political film, The Accidental Prime Minister on former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s first term in office, which has Kher, a self-proclaimed Modi supporter, playing Singh. And the Khan reference came from a legendary fight between Oberoi and the bhai of Indian cinema.

With the memes refusing to die down, Zoom TV Digital decided to conduct a poll on its Twitter page on who looks more convincing: Kher as Singh or Oberoi as Modi. The poll ran for four short hours and received 367 votes, 87 per cent of them going to Kher.

Meanwhile, Oberoi-as-Modi has upset actor Paresh Rawal, BJP MP from Ahmedabad East who, like Kher, is a vocal Modi supporter. No one can play Modi like him, says Rawal, who’s making his own biopic on the prime minister. This will be the most challenging role of his career, he says. That’s exactly what Kher said, and Oberoi too.