PM Narendra Modi biopic: Vivek Oberoi agrees he doesn’t quite look like Modi
Vivek Oberoi opens up about the challenges of looking like Narendra Modi in the latter's biopic.
Vivek Oberoi won us over with his debut act as Chandu in Ram Gopal Varma’s Company in 2002. The same year he followed it up with Saathiya and became a heartthrob for millions. He impressed us in a small but significant role in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara as Kesu Firangi in 2006, and who can forget Mastii? But these few meaningful and many 'double meaning'ful acts later, Oberoi remains a star who could have been a force to reckon with but got lost somewhere between A list controversies and B grade films. Fast forward to 2019 and Vivek Oberoi is now Vivek Anand Oberoi and is gearing up for the release of the PM Narendra Modi biopic.
You needn’t stare at the posters of the film for too long to realise that he DOESN’T quite look the part. He himself isn’t too sure of it either. “In the looks department I would give it a 6 to 7 out of 10 but it was a tedious process. One that took us many failed attempts. Once finalised, I had to sit in make-up for 6 to 7 hrs every day to get into the look,” he said. It must be difficult for the actor to have gone through so much to have people say ‘it ain’t quite like Modi’ but we have to give him a 10/10 for honesty.
PM Modi is one of the most documented world leaders today. It goes without saying that his mannerism’s have been fodder for many mimics and comedians. “It was easy to fall into the trap. So Omung (Kumar the director) and I decided that we will downplay some of the mannerisms that he is famous for.” Oberoi turned vegetarian for the role and changed his day to day schedule drastically in preparation for the role. “I would have only satvik bhojan. No matter what time my day ended I woke up at 4 AM, did my prayers and yoga.”
The film releases on Thursday, April 11th. It’s also the day when 91 constituencies in India go to vote in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019. The Congress has moved every court in the country to stop it but Supreme Court has now refused to stay its release. We will bring you the review soon. For all you know, the opposition went through all this trouble for nothing. Films usually take months to get ready, this one was shot in 38 days. It’s like going to a fast food restaurant looking for gourmet food and PM Modi’s life is definitely no ‘cheesy’, McSatvik burger.
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