Mumbai: The makers of Vivek Oberoi-starrer biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday announced that the film will be released countrywide on May 24, a day after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared.

The film, titled 'PM Narendra Modi', was earlier set to release on April 11 but was banned by the Election Commission. In its order last month, the EC had banned the screening of film during the poll period, saying any such film that subserves purpose of any political entity or individual should not be displayed in the electronic media.

The EC order had come a day before the movie was to be released. Producer Sandip Ssingh said he hopes the film will have a smooth run in the theatres.

"As a responsible citizen we respect the law of the country. After a lot of discussions and keeping the curiosity and excitement about the film in mind we have decided to release the film immediately after the Lok Sabha election results," Singh said in a statement.

"We are now releasing our film on 24th May 2019. This is the first time a film will be promoted for only four days. I hope now nobody has any problem with the film and we are hoping for the smooth release this time," he added.

Directed by Omung Kumar, the film also features Boman Irani, Manoj Joshi, Prashant Narayanan, Zarina Wahab, Barkha Sengupta and Darshan Kumaar, among others. Suresh Oberoi and Anand Pandit are co-producers of the film.

 

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Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.

“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.

Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.

“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”

The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.

On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.

Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.

“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.

Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.

“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”

Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.