Give it to Narendra Modi for pulling off the unthinkable and being two steps ahead of the pack. The Prime Minister’s ‘non-political’ interview with movie star Akshay Kumar, has added an altogether different perspective on his persona, right in the middle of general elections. While there is a lot chronicled on Modi the politician and the political strategist, the former Gujarat chief minister and now Prime Minister, there was precious little known about his personal likes and dislikes. Now thanks to Akshay Kumar, we know a bit. We know Modi’s weakness for aamras-puri, about his ‘friends’ in the opposition like Mamata Banerjee, his favourite half-sleeved kurta pyjama, the fondness for Twitter and his tough childhood. By giving an interview during election time, till now the exclusive preserve of high-profile journalists, the Prime Minister has broken yet another glass ceiling — and a shibboleth. He has demonstrated that an actor can do what a scribe can — no more no less. 

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

While the opposition is grinding its teeth in frustration - calling the PM, among other things, a failed politician — given half a chance, and the idea, it would have done the same. The interview, coming just when the future of under 300 Lok Sabha seats are already sealed in the ballot box, has been timed to perfection. It does not make the Prime Minister look non-serious enough to damage his poll prospects with more than half of the polling underway, and just human enough to catch the imagination of the youngsters, waiting to vote for the first time. It helps that the interviewer, in this case, is a heart-throb like Akshay Kumar — between the two, it is a great combination at work and undoubtedly, many friends of Modi in Bollywood must be ruing the missed opportunity. By any reckoning, it is a PR coup of epic proportions.