Ajey, a film based on the life of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is set to release on September 19, but it was held up for a long time at the Censor Board, which discouraged the film's producer Ajay Mengi and its cast.
Actor Paresh Rawal, who also stars in Ajey, spoke to NDTV about the delay in the release of the film.
Paresh Rawal said, “I have met him (Yogi Adityanath) only once or twice in the Parliament corridors. I was an MP and so was he. When he became Chief Minister, I thought, at first glance he has a small stature, but there's a lot of steel inside him. Then I saw two or three of his speeches in Parliament, and I felt that this is exactly the kind of man India needs. And for a state like Uttar Pradesh, only such a man is required.”
"There are two things. The bigger point is that Ajay had no motive behind this film, like getting a Rajya Sabha seat. Just because I am making a film on Yogi sahab, he would agree and bless me with a Rajya Sabha seat - there was no such intention.
"He neither wanted an election ticket, nor a government contract, nor any land. He wanted to make this film out of sheer love and respect for Yogi ji. Even then he had to face so many hurdles," Paresh Rawal told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Popular Bhojpuri actor and politician Dinesh Lal Yadav who is popularly known as Nirahua plays a strong supporting character in Ajey. He too highlighted how he has heard people saying that their welfare would have been better if they had a man like Yogi Adityanath to look after things.
Nirahua said, "As Paresh sir said, Yogi ji has turned Uttar Pradesh into ‘Uttam Pradesh.' And one quality he has, which ordinary people like us cannot have, is that he never holds any grudges against the opposition. It's not that he isn't human. He only does what is right for the welfare of the people, and if anyone tries to obstruct that, then he gets angry. Otherwise, he jokes around a lot, he remains very simple."
Paresh Rawal then spoke about the 2017 book on which the film is based, titled The Monk Who Became Chief Minister by Shantanu Gupta.
"Ajay came from America to make this film. There must be many like him who, after going to America, share their experience that they had to struggle so much.
"The book on which the film is based has been in the market for seven-eight years. It contains no objectionable content and yet they had to endure all this. Such incidents are like a big setback for our industry. They also dampen the spirit of producers."
The actor praised the country's judicial system and thanked the lawmakers for saving the film.
"Our judiciary is very powerful. They saved this film. What reasons did the members of the censor board have about holding up the film? The court asked them to tell the reason behind stopping the film. There must be some solid reason to stop a film like this.
"Without watching the film, the court twice told them to watch it. They didn't watch it, so the court refreshed their order saying examine the film - not just watch it, examine it. Only then did the matter move forward and reach this point."
Nirahua concluded by saying that Yogi Adityanath ji only gets angry when someone is doing a wrong thing. Otherwise, irrespective of which party, caste, or religion one belongs to, it doesn't bother him.
In Ajey, Anant Joshi plays Yogi Adityanath, and Paresh Rawal plays his guru. The film's story traces Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's journey from childhood to becoming the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
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