Veteran actor Suresh Oberoi discusses his son Vivek Oberoi's portrayal in P.M. Modi's biography and the movie's box office performance in an exclusive conversation with senior most journalist Bharathi S Pradhan for Lehren Retro. He discusses the role of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath together in Indian politics and offers his frank assessment of the BJP as a political party, adding the RSS reference in the process.
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00:00Did you think he would need a good fit as Prime Minister Modi in that film?
00:12He did very well.
00:13You liked him in it?
00:14I liked him very well.
00:15I think that so many times I thought that he is Modi only, many times.
00:21He worked very hard.
00:22He worked.
00:23You were also in a small role in it?
00:26In Baraf.
00:27I came for the first time in three days.
00:29I was in one.
00:30I was in minus something.
00:31They made me sit there.
00:32It was snowing till I came here.
00:34That's right.
00:35Up in the hills.
00:36That's right.
00:37How he used to work.
00:38But why did that film not shape up the way we had expected it to?
00:43There are so many problems in life.
00:45Anything can happen.
00:47Did that disappoint you?
00:48Because it was a project you were very keen on, isn't it?
00:52Whoever I talk to, they say they have seen the film.
00:56Nobody says what a good film it is.
01:01It was not in the papers.
01:03It was not in the money.
01:05I don't know.
01:06Nobody said that they didn't see the film.
01:08But I saw the film and didn't like it.
01:10Because I found a lot…
01:12You thought it was long?
01:15Not just long.
01:16I just thought it was not very…
01:19It was not very engrossingly made.
01:21And I thought the person we were talking about, Mr. Odin,
01:24deserved a far superior film.
01:26No, no. It was edited a lot.
01:28I think it was…
01:31No. It was badly edited because…
01:34It deserved a better product.
01:36No.
01:37There were a lot of people who said he disallowed so many scenes.
01:43He made some fake ones as well.
01:45If these people would have said,
01:47there is no biopic,
01:48if they would have made something else,
01:49if they would have named it, it would have worked.
01:51So, we had to go and show it every time to certain people.
01:55The censors also gave a lot of cuts.
01:57Cut this, cut that,
01:58where will we get it from?
02:00Obviously, you wouldn't like the film.
02:03They removed a chunk,
02:04removed that chunk,
02:05removed this,
02:06removed this,
02:07removed that.
02:08But you have been a Mr. Modi voter for a very long time.
02:13There is a hundred people's group
02:18which is where we go for meetings.
02:22There is a hundred people there.
02:23It's a committee.
02:26And you have been with the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2004?
02:29From my father's time.
02:31Father's time?
02:32Okay.
02:34But that must have been Jan Sangh, right?
02:36Yes. It wasn't then.
02:38So, I believe you became a proper BJP member in 2004.
02:43Yeah, proper member.
02:45And after that I got so many offers but I said no.
02:48From Congress and other parties.
02:50So, is it some belief that you have in the party and in Mr. Modi?
02:55I like the party, that's all.
02:57And do you also have a great…
02:59I like the party, I like what RSS does.
03:02I like what BJP does.
03:07And especially after Modi Ji,
03:10I even like it more
03:11because Yogi and Modi have made something very strong and nice
03:15and very loud and clear.
03:17No nonsense, no chori, nobody will come late, punctuality, kya-kya.
03:22It has improved a lot now.
03:25The times have changed.
03:27Earlier, nobody liked that Suresh Chopra runs a shop at home.
03:30What is he doing with the girls?
03:32Go and dance.
03:34Now, after that, they say, wow, wow.
03:36This is the pride of our house.
03:39Did it, did it.
03:41And luckily, I had the money to even take care of the family,
03:46brothers, children and all that.
03:48Aaya na?
03:49Jiski kismat me likha hota hai na, unke liye aayi jata hai.
03:52Aayi jata hai, that's right.