- Friday, May 02, 2025
The row erupted after journalist Vir Sanghvi in a social media post condoling the death of Manmohan Singh labelled “The Accidental Prime Minister” as “one of the worst Hindi movies ever made”
By: India Weekly
THE PASSING away of former prime minister Manmohan Singh reignited discussions around the 2019 film “The Accidental Prime Minister”.
The movie, starring Anupam Kher as Singh and Akshaye Khanna as Sanjay Baru, faced renewed criticism after journalist Vir Sanghvi labelled it “one of the worst Hindi movies ever made” in a social media post.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta supported Sanghvi’s comments, sharing the post with the caption, “+100.” This endorsement drew sharp criticism from Kher, who highlighted Mehta’s role as the creative director of the film.
Kher called Mehta a “hypocrite” for distancing himself from the project despite being deeply involved in its production.
Mehta acknowledged his involvement but expressed regret, stating, “I did my job as professionally as I was allowed to. But it doesn’t mean I have to keep defending the film or that it makes me lose objectivity about my error of judgement.”
The debate escalated as Kher shared old posts where Mehta had praised the film, accusing the filmmaker of “double standards.” Mehta responded by apologizing if he had inadvertently hurt Kher, offering to resolve the matter privately.
Singh, known for spearheading India’s economic reforms and serving as prime minister from 2004 to 2014, passed away on Thursday night at AIIMS in Delhi.
