The launch of Gadkari’s biopic sparks a hundred theories

The somewhat staid and solid Nitin Gadkari, 66, union minister for roads, transport and highways is an unlikely subject for a biopic, and yet, there it is—a well-mounted cinematic ode featuring the actor Rahul Chopra playing Gadkari as the Minister Can-do in the Modi cabinet

NAGPUR: The release of a film’s 60 second trailer at a packed auditorium in Nagpur’s Civil Lines on Monday evening, has become a political teaser ahead of next year’s elections.

The launch of Gadkari’s biopic sparks a hundred theories

The somewhat staid and solid Nitin Gadkari, 66, union minister for roads, transport and highways is an unlikely subject for a biopic, and yet, there it is—a well-mounted cinematic ode featuring the actor Rahul Chopra playing Gadkari as the Minister Can-do in the Modi cabinet.

All those associated with the film, its financier, producer, director, writer are all formally associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and as one senior RSS swamyamsevak revealed, the idea to do this Gadkari biopic is also the Sangh’s. “The idea,” he said “is to give Gadkari’s image a makeover and to amplify it.” The film, scheduled for an October 27 release in Maharashtra before it’s dubbed in Hindi from Marathi for a wider release, goes some way in scotching rumours that Gadkari has fallen foul of the BJP’s central leadership for his outspokenness and may even be denied a ticket from Nagpur. At the same time, given the party’s push to win at least 45 of the state’s 48 seats in next year’s Lok Sabha polls, such talk can only be mere conjecture.

While Gadkari himself left Nagpur for Delhi on Monday morning, the presence of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, his one-time protégé, former minister Datta Meghe and several Sangh leaders gave political heft to the trailer launch.

Fadnavis was lavish in his praise, calling Gadkari one of the jewels of the Modi cabinet. “He is the best-performing minister in the cabinet and is helping Prime Minister Modi’s dream to make India’s economy the third largest in the world by developing infrastructure.” He swelt on Gadkari’s “relentless determination” and spoke of how the minister had brought down the cost of construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway from an estimated ₹3,600 crore to ₹1,600 crore. “The movie would serve as a testament to the process of leadership development and the exemplary dedication of a karyakarta,” he said. The biopic, he added, would be an inspiration to the youth of the country.

The film, written and directed by Anurag Ranjan Bhusari, is the latest in the slew of politically-backed films that have hit the silver screen this year. His biopic, Bhusari, assured, would steer clear of all controversies around the outspoken minister and focus on the anecdotes revealed to him by Gadkari’s friends and families. The only thing that somewhat marred the event was news from Chiplun about the collapse of an under-construction flyover being built under the aegis of the National Highway Authority of India.