Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher and filmmaker Hansal Mehta have sparked a public row over the controversial 2019 film, The Accidental Prime Minister. The dispute began after Mehta endorsed a critical comment by journalist Vir Sanghvi, leading to Kher accusing Mehta of hypocrisy and double standards.
The controversy reignited when Sanghvi, commenting on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s demise on Thursday, wrote on X: “If you want to remember the lies that were told about Manmohan Singh, you should rewatch The Accidental Prime Minister. It is not only one of the worst Hindi movies ever made but is an example of how media was used to tarnish the name of a good man.”
Mehta responded to Sanghvi’s post with a “+100,” indirectly agreeing with the criticism. This did not sit well with Kher, who played the lead role of Manmohan Singh in the film. Kher lashed out, labelling Mehta a “hypocrite” and highlighting that Mehta was the creative director of the film, providing inputs throughout the shoot in England and presumably being compensated for his work.
Kher wrote on X: “The HYPOCRITE in this thread is NOT @virsanghvi. He has the freedom to not like a film. But @mehtahansal was the #CreativeDirector of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister. Who was present at the entire shoot of the film in England! Giving his creative inputs and must have taken the fee also for it. So for him to say 100% to #VirSanghvi’s comment is so messed up and full of double standards!”
Mehta was quick to respond. He said: “Of course I own my mistakes Mr Kher. And I can admit that I made a mistake. Can’t I sir? I did my job as professionally as I was allowed to. Can you deny that? But it doesn’t mean I have to keep defending the film or that it makes me lose objectivity about my error of judgement. About brownie points and hypocrisy I respectfully submit that you seem to be evaluating people by the same yardstick you evaluate yourself.”
However, after this, Mehta chose a conciliatory tone, stating: “And by the way @anupampkher sir… you can say all you want. Call me names if you wish. Apologies if I’ve inadvertently hurt you. Sending love to you. Whenever you wish we will speak and clear the air. I will not give space to trolls to distort this further.”
The Accidental Prime Minister, based on Sanjaya Baru’s book of the same name, sparked significant controversy upon its release. The film portrayed Manmohan Singh as being subservient to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, a narrative that aligned with Baru’s claims in the memoir. Critics, however, denounced both the book and the film as politically motivated propaganda designed to discredit the Congress party and Singh’s legacy.
Baru, who served as Singh’s media advisor, claimed that his memoir was intended to present an empathetic portrait of Singh. However, the book and its cinematic adaptation faced backlash, with Singh’s office officially dismissing the memoir as “fiction.”
The film courted further controversy due to Anupam Kher’s association with India’s right-wing government. Critics alleged that the movie was a thinly veiled attempt to influence public opinion in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during an election year
