Mere Pyare Prime Minister (transl. My Dear Prime Minister) is a 2018[2] Indian Hindi-language social-drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.[3] It stars Anjali Patil, Om Kanojiya, Atul Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Niteesh Wadhwa and Rasika Agashe.[4][5][6] The film follows an eight-year-old boy who decides to write a letter to the Prime Minister of India after his mother is raped.[7] The film brings into focus the issues of defecation in open and sanitation problems faced in slums.[8] It was the only Asian film which was screened at the Rome Film Festival.[9][10][11][12][13] The film was released on 15 March 2019 in theatres.[14]
| Mere Pyare Prime Minister | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra |
| Written by | Manoj Mairta Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Hussain Dalal |
| Produced by | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra P.S. Bharathi Navmeet Singh Rajiv Tandon Arpit Vyas |
| Starring | Anjali Patil Om Kanojiya Atul Kulkarni Makrand Deshpande |
| Cinematography | Pawel Dyllus |
| Edited by | Meghna Manchanda Sen |
| Music by | Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Pen India Limited |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Box office | est. ₹03.9 million[1] |
Plot edit
The story revolves around the film's eight-year-old protagonist, Kannu (Kanojia), who lives in a slum and dreams of building a toilet for his mother. After his mother Sargam (Patil) is raped when she goes out in the night to defecate in the open, Kannu takes charge of improving the conditions in the slum.
In his quest to build a toilet, Kannu writes a letter to the prime minister and travels to New Delhi from Mumbai with his comrades Ringtone (Bharti) and Nirala (Prasad). The fourth member of their gang Mangla (Syna Anand) is providing support to the family back in Mumbai. After they give their letter to the office in Delhi, they return to Mumbai where Sargam is very worried for Kannu. When defecating near the pipes, Kannu mistakenly falls in the water and his friend, Ringtone jumps in to save him. Sargam comes to find Kannnu and Ringtone unharmed. The Toilet is eventually built but a public toilet not a private one but Kannu is still grateful that it was at least built. The slum residents all come to celebrate the toilet being built and inaugurate it.
Cast edit
- Om Kanojiya as Kanhaiya 'Kanhu' 'Kanna'
- Anjali Patil as Sargam
- Atul Kulkarni as Prime minister's official
- Makarand Deshpande as Sainath Adgale
- Rasika Agashe as Rabiya
- Sonia Albizuri as Eva Patten
- Syna Anand as Mangla
- Adarsh Bharti as Ringtone
- Prasad as Nirala
- Nachiket Purnapatre as Sajju
- Niteesh Wadhwa as Pappu Pandey
- Jigyasa Yaduwanshi as Lady Cop
Production edit
Development edit
The director of the film, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has made films on stories based on Delhi. This time he based the story of his film, Mere Pyare Prime Minister, on the life of people in slums of Mumbai. Mehra said, "The subject has been simmering on a slow fire for three years. I'm a Delhi boy and all my films – Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Mirzya – were all set in the North. But I've been living in Mumbai since 1988 and seen it transform into a world city. The buildings are taller now but there are still slums around them that have always intrigued me and made me follow the path of Salaam Bombay, Slumdog Millionaire and other stories which have grown out of them." He noted the film was not so much about comparisons as a story of people and relationships.[15][7]
Casting edit
National award-winning actress Anjali Patil was selected to play mother of the child protagonist around whom the film revolves. Three kids living in the slums were selected to play role of his friends.[15][5][16]
Filming edit
The principal photography began in May 2017.[15]
Soundtrack edit
| Mere Pyare Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 14 March 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2017–18 | |||
| Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 18:18 | |||
| Language | Hindi | |||
| Label | Sony Music India Saregama Music (Baja Baja Dhol Baja) | |||
| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's music is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and lyrics written by Gulzar.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mere Pyare Prime Minister – Title Track" | Arijit Singh | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Rezgaariyaan" | Shivam Mahadevan, Shankar Mahadevan | 4:11 |
| 3. | "Kanha Re" | Rekha Bhardwaj | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Bajaa Bajaa Dhol Bajaa" | Shankar Mahadevan, Divya Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Rekha Bhardwaj, Shrinidhi Ghatate, Neela Mulhekar | 5:25 |
| Total length: | 18:18 | ||
Release edit
The film was released in India on 15 March 2019.[2]
Home media edit
The film became available as VOD on Netflix on 30 May 2019.[17]
Reception edit
Critical review:
Rajen Sen of Hindustan Times gave Mere Pyare Prime Minister three stars out of five, calling it 'an earnest fairy-tale, modest but far from memorable'.[18]
References edit
- ^ "Merey Pyarey Prime Minister box office collection till now". Bollywood Hungama. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Mere Pyare Prime Minister' to release on 15th March 2019". The Times of India. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Mere Pyare Prime Minister' first poster released". Business Standard India. Business Standard. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Mere Pyare Prime Minister trailer: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's film looks promising". The Indian Express. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Mere Pyare Prime Minister's poster highlights eight-year-old Kanhu's dream for his mother". Mid-Day. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ "A closer look at 'The Rebels of Sonchiriya'; Mere Pyare Prime Minister". The First Post. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Mere Pyare Prime Minister – A boy travels from a Mumbai slum to Delhi to right a wrong". Scroll.in. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ^ "Rakeysh Mehra's film tells a big message through a little boy". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- ^ "Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mere Pyare Prime Minister only Asian film to be screened at Rome Film Festival". The First Post. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Mere Pyare Prime Minister' screened at Rome Film Festival". Business Standard India. Business Standard. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Mere Pyaare Prime Minister screened at Rome Film Festival". cinemaexpress.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "'Mere Pyare Prime Minister' only Asian film screened at Rome Film Festival". Dailyhunt. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "'Mere Pyare Prime Minister' screened at Rome Film Festival". freepressjournal.in. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Mere Pyare Prime Minister': Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra reveals the release date of his film". The Times of India. 12 February 2019.
- ^ a b c "Mehra's next film is 'Mere Pyare Prime Minister'". 19 May 2017.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: आंखें खोल देगी 'मेरे प्यारे प्राइम मिनिस्टर'" (in Hindi). Punjab Kesari. 13 March 2019.
- ^ "Mere Pyare Prime Minister". Netflix. May 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Mere Pyare Prime Minister movie review: A film featuring kids but not a film for kids". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
