''The Accidental Prime Minister'' screening cancelled in Ludhiana, Kolkata

Ludhiana/Kolkata/Indore, January 11

The screening of the Bollywood film "The Accidental Prime Minister" was stopped in several multiplexes in Kolkata and Ludhiana on Friday following protests by Congress party activists.

In Ludhiana, the activists held a protest outside the Pavilion Mall following which the multiplex management did not start the show to prevent untoward incidents.

Local police and administration officials were present when the Congress protest took place. The film was, however, screened in multiplexes in Chandigarh, around 130 km from here.

In Madhya Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists created a ruckus outside a multiplex where they had arrived to watch the first show of the film.

Hundreds of BJYM workers reached the Malhar Mega Mall here, which houses the multiplex, with a band. Before entering the cinema hall, they shouted slogans against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, and got into fracas with the police who were present there anticipating trouble.

BJYM's local unit's president Manasvi Patidar said that NSUI had warned cinema halls against screening the film, so "in order to give a befitting reply, we watched the film in this manner".

And mainly, due to security reasons the screening of the film in Kolkata was also cancelled. According to the viewers at the Hind Cinema near central Kolkata's Chandni Chowk area, the show was cancelled after screening for just 10 minutes on its opening 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 officer of Kolkata Police said told IANS.

However, he could not confirm whether the next shows of the film will be screened as scheduled.

It is based on a book with the same title written by Sanjaya Baru, former Prime Minister Singh's media advisor.

Baru's book was published on April 20, 2014.

Actor Anupam Kher plays the role of Manmohan Singh, Suzanne Bernert that of Sonia Gandhi and Arjun Mathur of Rahul Gandhi. The role of Baru is being played by Akshaye Khanna. — Agencies