Actor Anupam Kher and filmmaker Hansal Mehta engaged in a heated exchange on social media over the 2019 film The Accidental Prime Minister. The controversy began after journalist Vir Sanghvi criticised the film in a tweet, calling it “one of the worst Hindi movies ever made” and alleging it was used to tarnish the reputation of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Sanghvi’s tweet read: “If you want to remember the lies that were told about Manmohan Singh you should rewatch The Accidental Prime Minister. It is not only one of the worst Hindi movies ever made but is an example of how media was used to tarnish the name of a good man.”
Mehta, who was the creative director of the film, responded to Sanghvi’s tweet with a simple “+100.”
This reaction drew a sharp response from Kher, who portrayed Dr Manmohan Singh in the film. He criticised Mehta in a tweet, calling him a hypocrite for agreeing with Sanghvi’s comment despite being creatively involved in the project.
Kher tweeted: “The HYPOCRITE in this thread is NOT @virsanghvi. He has the freedom to not like a film. But @mehtahansal was the #CreativeDirector of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister. Who was present at the entire shoot of the film in England! Giving his creative inputs and must have taken the fee also for it. So for him to say 100% to #VirSanghvi’s comment is so messed up and full of double standards!
“Not that I agree with Mr Sanghvi but we are all capable of doing bad or indifferent work. But we should OWN it. Not like #HansalMehta trying to earn some brownies from certain section of people. Common Hansal!! Grow up! I still have all our videos and pics of the shoot together!”
In response, Mehta defended his stance and acknowledged his involvement in the film, describing it as a professional commitment.
Mehta stated: “Of course I own my mistakes Mr Kher. And I can admit that I made a mistake. Can’t I sir? I did my job as professionally as I was allowed to. Can you deny that? But it doesn’t mean I have to keep defending the film or that it makes me lose objectivity about my error of judgement.”
Mehta concluded his response with a pointed remark at Kher: “About brownie points and hypocrisy I respectfully submit that you seem to be evaluating people by the same yardstick you evaluate yourself.”
Directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, The Accidental Prime Minister featured Kher as Dr Manmohan Singh and Hansal Mehta as Naveen Patnaik. The cast also included Akshaye Khanna as Sanjaya Baru, Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi, and Aahana Kumra as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The film sparked debates upon its release for its portrayal of political figures and remains a topic of controversy, as evident in the recent social media spat.
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