Ashish's Web Series MODI discussion thread- streaming now!! - Page 12

Modi: Journey of a Common Man review Dramatic performances, selective re-telling of political events

• Cast: Ashish Sharma,Makarand Deshpande,Faisal Khan,Prachi Shah,Darshan Zariwala | Director: Umesh Shukla

It's the fourth month of the year and we have already seen two biopics on Indian political leaders. The third one was expected to make the most noise and here we are. Decibels are rising around the release of the film PM Narendra Modi that is expected to hit theatres in three days. Meanwhile, five episodes of a web series titled Modi: Journey of a Common Man is quietly streaming on Eros Now.

The series has been helmed by OMG! director Umesh Shukla, who has attempted to unravel Modi's unconventional and adventurous journey into politics in 10 episodes. The makers have clearly nailed the timing of the release, but strangely, we can access only the first five episodes for now. These trace Modi's life from his curious and quietly rebellious pre-teen years to him as a fiery youth in his mid-20s, working for the RSS to restore democracy in Gujarat in the Emergency era. There's heavy focus on incidents that led to the shaping of his political acumen, which as the story tells us, was embedded in him right from his boyhood days.

The series is based on Kishore Makwana's book Common Man's PM Narendra Modi, and according to the disclaimer is a "hybrid of fact and fiction. Those who cared to read the disclaimer were told, right at the onset, that "all characters have been fictionalized for dramatization.

Makwana is an RSS member himself. But, for the propaganda that this series appears to be, it doesn't resort to bashing the Opposition. The writing by Radhika Anand and Mihir Bhuta shows restraint on that front. Indira Gandhi's name has few mentions and the government is not referred to as Congress, but just "sarkaar. The better part of the series acts like a primer on events during the Emergency, something that young India has limited knowledge of. The focus, however, never leaves its central character. We see the Emergency unfold through the eyes of a quick-thinking 25-year-old Modi (Ashish Sharma), a master of disguise when he undertakes covert operations for the RSS. The then government had heavily come down on the organisation, banning it and arresting its leaders. We see Modi, under the mentorship of fellow member Lakshmanrao Inamdar, aka vakeel sahab (Makarand Deshpande), consistently hoodwinking the police. These chapters in his life play out almost like a spy thriller, replete with chase sequences and narrow escapes.

The religious extremism of the RSS gets sidestepped in this retelling. The organisation, instead, is championed as one fighting against the Indira Gandhi government to restore democracy. Anti-dictatorship is the mood projected, which was the sangh's rallying cause in the mid-70s. In one scene, Modi takes on a saffron-clad, self-proclaimed baba as he describes himself as "spiritual and not-religious and says serving one's country is the true meaning of devotion. It should, therefore, be interesting to see how the narrative plays out in season two, when the page turns to the Godhra riots of 2002.

Shukla gives us a glimpse of Modi's childhood in the small village of Vadnagar, when he was a street smart boy of 12 and quite a challenge for his teachers. Son of a tea-stall owner, he had a humble upbringing but not the kind where his family found it hard to make ends meet. We see the concept of social service and greater good being sown early on in his mind, as he discussed these lofty virtues with a trio of sadhus he would serve chai to. His family frowned upon his seemingly ascetic leanings but he would still find his way. We also get a hint of why he wasn't keen on marriage, despite being engaged in his childhood.

Ashish Sharma plays Modi from the 1970s. Screengrab from trailer.

Faisal Khan as younger Modi plays his part well, however, his relentless questioning and over smart comebacks gets annoying after a point. The acting is dramatic and expressions unsubtle, but perhaps that was the brief given to him. Ashish Sharma as the Modi of the '70s is aptly cast as a resolute rebel. The actor aces the prolonged monologues in shuddh Hindi, getting mannerisms and enunciation down to pat. Watch out for the index finger pointing and the half smile. His humour, however, remains oddly placed. Makarand Deshpande surprises the audience with his clean shaven look. The maverick's mane is iconic. The actor adds a theatrical edge to his character of senior RSS member Inamdar, and mentor to Modi. His lofty throw of words comes across a little too stage' for film at times, though. Darshan Zariwala and Prachi Shah as Modi's parents have not been given much to do but make their limited roles count.

It is interesting to note that the writers of this series have completely done away with common Urdu words. Intezaar is apeksha; not maut, but mrityu and so on. There's also some heavy duty Sanskrit as Modi continues to quote the shashtras time and again. The arguments are sound but the language gets tedious at times.

Shukla clearly set out to make a mass-y watch and he manages to keep the 40-minute episodes mostly engaging, even though his direction falters at times. The content is not as propagandist as was feared, although we must bear in mind this is just the first five episodes that are a long way from the controversial years to come. But why get into that now, right?

http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/modi-journey-of-a-common-man-review-dramatic-performances-selective-re-telling-of-political-events-6414701.html

EC stops biopic, but web series Modi: Journey Of A Common Man' plays on

New Delhi, April 10

The Election Commission (EC) has stopped Bollywood biopic PM Narendra Modi' from releasing on April 11, when the Lok Sabha election begins, but a web series on the Prime Ministerreleased just over a week ahead of the pollshas been playing on.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the film's release over concerns it may tilt the balance during the elections, and put the ball in the EC's court. And the poll panel on Wednesday ruled that any material which disturbs a level playing field should not be displayed, stalling the film's release until the elections end.

The trajectory of Eros Now's Original Series Modi: Journey Of A Common Man', helmed by OMG - Oh My God!' famed director Umesh Shukla, is also similar.

But Shukla made light of it.

"The content of my series is not such that there will be complaints to the EC unnecessarily. It's a normal human's story. Maybe it has to do with the medium of Internet. Maybe the code of conduct is different... I don't know the rules, but if there was something (a complaint), we would have heard about it," Shukla told IANS.

Five episodes out of 10 went live on April 3, just over a week before the first phase of polling begins. It tells the story of Modi's life from when he was all of 12, and traverses through his youth to becoming the Prime Minister.

Defending the timing of the show's release, Shukla said: "It was not planned this way. It is a coincidence. I was working on it since 11 to 12 months. It could have come out one month earlier as well, but it got delayed owing to some technical glitches.

"And it doesn't make a difference to me if people say it is coming at this time, because even when I came up with 'Oh My God!', people said it was too controversial (as it was a film about a case against God and it was releasing around the Ganpati festival). But I don't give too much attention to all this.

"All I am saying that it's a back story of the PM. I have to say that I changed as a person when I read about him, and I always feel he is a combination between Swami Vivekananda and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The web series is my tribute to him.

"My web series is not about politics. It is more about a character and his journey." The response to the show so far, according to Shukla, is best described in one word. "Brilliant".

"It is more than I expected. People are really liking it because it is very detailed and realistic. It is relatable. It includes few stories people never knew about Modi, so the untold stories are leaving the audience surprised," Shukla said.

He said there is no "fiction or fabrication" in the show, and the remaining five episodes of which may go live later this week.

Written by Mihir Bhuta and Radhika Anand and based on Kishor Makwana's Modi: Common Man's PM', the show stars Faisal Khan, Ashish Sharma and Mahesh Thakur depicting different phases of Modi's life.

"It took us 11-12 months to bring this show to life. The project was shot extensively in Gujarat... In his village Vadangar, in his school, in Palanpur, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. We shot in Uttarakhand, Kolkata and Mumbai too," he said of the 45-day shooting schedule.

As for the casting, Shukla said he never wanted to rope in actors caught in an image trap.

"I always wanted someone with good acting skills and limited exposure. I found that in Ashish, Faisal and Mahesh... I had told them we didn't want any mimicry. We wanted them to observe and adapt mannerisms as we didn't want a caricaturish portrayal." IANS

http://https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/ec-stops-biopic-but-web-series-modi-journey-of-a-common-man-plays-on/756370.html

Originally posted by: Thushi

Wish i was more active ... super lazy nd nowadays doesnt feel lyk cuming to IF 😆

Can I appreciat Eros .. after seeing SP ji nd nd espl my spl luv sony dear 🤢😆 was happy to c Ashu show being promoted well .. 😆

nd nd as usual powerful fans wishes getting fulfilled by eros ji too .. We got MV just the day I was talking abt expected a MV nd we got it 🤣

Now cuming to WS .. I m glad Ashu choosed this as his digital debute (though he has already done few SF but this is his first WS )

When we got news I had no idea i would luv the show this much ... not a fan of modi .. dont even knw abt him .. so for me this is just an another Ashu show nd lyk we always start becuz of him watched for him nd luved ittt .. best part is there r no unneccessry scene at leastt for me i think .. nd lyk partu pointed in TT the show revolve around Modi only .. his presence ... he is in every scene be it the younger part or Ashu part 😲

. And Ashuuu wat can i say as usual was phenomenal in those 5 epis we got ... he is nailing every bit .. i saw lyk only 2/ 3 clips of modi nd he is luking lyk modi only his body language the way he talks ... only he can do ... I m also luving Modi nd his friend .. nd the Vakil Saab scene 😛 In sum of the scenes he is sooo cutuu .. that dancing part the scene of Vakil saab nd Modi .. the one wid kids .. to be frank wish we got one epi per day it so we could dicuss everything in detail ..

apart from Ashu I m luving the cast too .. all of them r gud in their part espl faisal is cutu as young modi .. nd luking lyk school boy in those school scenes .. his scene wid his teachers 😆 and wid his bro make me want sum scene of AShus Modis nd his bro :(

Wat can I say more .. another great show from ashu for us wid sum fab acting direction .. The Promos, MV & the show is filled wid Ashu ... totally Ashufied .. 😳

SO BGM master following Ashu or did they borrow SKR bgm ... always sum or other thing following Ashuu 😆.. Suprisingly Nag Saab spared me 😲😆

And man the pressmeet & screeening ❤️ How gud Ashu luked 😳 but cheating no solo pics from him 😡😆

I luved all the seg .. glad we got Ashu Faisal too .. I espl luved restau... so cutuu it was .. nd the selfie we got of them They luked lyk two bros #AshFa 😳

Finally it started streaming again after elections 🥳

Watch the episodes of #Modi on #ErosNow - http://bit.ly/MODI_Episodes

Two days after LS polls conclude, web series on Modi goes live again

Five episodes, which were launched earlier, were made available again on OTT platform Eros Now.

NEW DELHI: 'Modi: Journey Of A Common Man', the web series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is live again, a month after the Election Commission banned its streaming in favour of a level-playing field during the Lok Sabha elections.

Directed by Umesh Shukla of 'OMG - Oh My God' fame, the web series was launched just days ahead of the polls, and was playing on even though the EC had stopped the release of Bollywood biopic 'PM Narendra Modi' from releasing on April 11 when the seven-phase ..

"Our attempt through this series is to tell the story of Narendra Modi's struggle, will power, vision and victory. His journey is truly inspiring," Lulla added.

Shukla, the director of the web series, had earlier said the release of the show was not planned in a way to coincide with the elections.

"I was working on it for almost a year. It could have come out a month earlier as well, but it got delayed owing to some technical glitches... My web series is not about politics. It is more about a character and his journey," Shukla had told IANS.

The trajectory of the web series and the film 'PM Narendra Modi' is similar as they trace Modi' ..

Read more at:

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69438585.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

CR: AshishTamilFC