PATNA, 25 January 2005 — The all-powerful Election Commission, no fan of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, might delay the release of the film “Padmashree Lalu Prasad Yadav”, starring the leader in a special appearance, until after the Bihar polls.
The film, expected to be screened in Dubai today, is due for a countrywide release on Friday but viewers in Bihar and Jharkhand may have to wait for over a month till the February elections are over.
Lalu has a four-minute appearance as himself in the provocatively titled film but his images dominate the publicity stills in Bihar and Jharkhand where staggered polls begin Feb 3.
The commission has received demands for stalling the movie’s release on grounds that it would be a violation of the model code of conduct.
The opposition Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state say the film may end up projecting the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu.
“We are going to watch the film to see whether the apprehensions are justified,” a commission official said. “We will take a decision after considering all factors.”
The movie, which goes by the sub-heading “Excitement has a New Name”, has tickled the curiosity of buffs mostly due to the name, actually a combination of the names of the four main characters in the film.
The former Bihar chief minister, who enjoys quite a fan following for his rustic witticisms, shot for his bit role at the residence of his Chief Minister wife Rabri Devi. All those witness to his histrionic foray swore that he was natural. The whole crew flew down to Patna to shoot the scene. They were pleasantly surprised when Lalu canned the shot in one take.
Meanwhile, schools here have intensified their protest against the kidnapping of Kislay Kaushal, a 14-year-old student of the Delhi Public School in the state capital. Most of the public schools remained closed yesterday and students in some places sat on hunger strike.
Police is still clueless about the whereabouts of the kidnapped boy. “We are working hard to get the safe release of the boy,” was the only response from the police.
“More talking to press could affect our efforts in this regard,” said a police official. Kislay was kidnapped here on Wednesday when he was on his way to school.
