Published: Sunday, Aug 29, 2010, 2:22 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_manmohan-singh-to-watch-aamir-khan-s-peepli-live-tomorrow_1430091
Quite to the surprise of many, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be spending Sunday watching Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live. And it is not just the PM. Joining him will be his family, close friends and even some senior officials at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Sources in the government are somewhat surprised by Singh’s choice of film, because the movie had high-lighted the price rises of basic commodities in the country. A song in the film was even used by the PM’s opponents in rallies held across the country. (It’s a different matter altogether that Aamir Khan never gave permission to the BJP for using the song Mehngai dayan khay jaat hai.)
It is believed that sports minister M S Gill suggested the idea to the PM. Gill served as an IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh, and recommended the movie since it is supposedly based on true stories of farmers in the state.
Singh is not exactly a movie buff. This will only be his fourth film in his last seven years in office.
According to the sources, this will be Singh’s second Aamir produced film; the first being Tare Zameen Par. Compared to him, BJP leaders Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani were bigger movie fans.
In fact, Aamir Khan has in the past specially arranged screenings of his films for Advani.
Among the little that he has watched, one of Singh’s favourites is Shah Rukh Khan’s Veer Zara, a Yash Raj film which was about a love story between an Indian and a Pakistani.
Peepli Live, however, deals with a more politically sensitive issue, that of farmer suicides. And the film has also been one of the most discussed topics during the present monsoon session in the Parliament.
