Screening of ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ cancelled in Kolkata, Ludhiana

Kolkata, Jan 11: The controversial film on former prime minister Manmohan Singh 'The Accidental Prime Minister' which got released on Friday, January 11, hit a wall in Kolkata and Ludhiana as its screening was cancelled in those two cities. Police said the screening of the film was restricted because of security reasons amid protests shown by Youth Congress activists.

According to reports, the show of the film near Central Kolkata's Chandni Chowk area was cancelled after screening took place for just 10 minutes on the inaugural day.

"The afternoon screening of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' has been cancelled due to security reasons. There was an agitation by a certain group outside the hall," a senior Kolkata Police officer was quoted as saying by IANS.

The state's Youth Congress leadership claimed that the content and title of the film were not in good taste towards Singh, who served as the PM between 2004 and 2014, and other senior leaders of the party sought that the film be banned.

"The tile of the film itself is derogatory. What did the filmmaker want to imply by calling Manmohan Singh an accidental prime minister? Close to 100 activists of Youth Congress in Kolkata protested in front of the theatre. It is good the screening has been stopped," Bengal Youth Congress President Shadab Khan was quoted as saying by IANS.

In Ludhiana, Punjab, where the Congress returned to power in 2017, activists held protests outside the Pavilion Mall as a result of which the multiplex authorities did not risk screening the film which features veteran actor Anupam Kher portraying Singh's character. The screening though took place in Chandigarh, the state's capital.