Various Bollywood celebrities met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the inauguration of National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai on Saturday. Several bigwigs of the Indian film industry were in attendance at the function.
PM Modi held forth on a range of topics like the importance of cinema in society, how films play an important role in the country’s soft power and how popular they are overseas. He assured the film industry that his government is taking steps to curb piracy and “camcording”.
He also spoke about the recent trends in Indian cinema. “This shows India is changing. Earlier, poverty was considered a virtue… Films were about poverty, helplessness. Now, along with problems, solutions are also being seen. If there are a million problems, there are a billion solutions,” he said.
Many celebs took to social media to post pictures with the PM. Comedian Kapil Sharma posted on Twitter, “Respected pm Sh @narendramodi ji,it was nice meeting u n great knowing ur inspiring ideas and progressive views about our film industry and our nation. N sir I must say u have a great sense of humor too! regards 🙏.”
Modi responded to him and said, “When @KapilSharmaK9 appreciates somebody’s humour, it sure makes that person happy and I am no exception. :) Thank you for the kind words Kapil.”
Mohit Raina, who currently stars in military drama Uri: The Surgical Strikes, talked about the “surreal” “How’s the josh?” moment of the event, in which Modi invoked the famous catchphrase from the movie.
On Instagram he wrote, “Witnessed a surreal moment, after inaugurating the National Museum of Indian Cinema, while addressing the Film Fraternity The Honourable Prime Minister Modi ji asked everyone How is the Josh , instantly came a roaring High Sir from the likes of Rajyavardhan Rathore Sir , Lata Mangeshkar ji , Manoj Kumar ji , Prasoon Joshi ji , Shyam Benegal ji , Bhupen Hazarika ji , A R Rahman Sahab , Subhash Ghai ji , Aanand Rai ji , Aamir Khan ji And the list goes on . A pat on the Back Team Uri . ❤️Gratitude.”
Respected pm Sh @narendramodi ji,it was nice meeting u n great knowing ur inspiring ideas and progressive views about our film industry and our nation. N sir I must say u have a great sense of humor too! regards 🙏 pic.twitter.com/2fDpGC2qwh
— KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) January 19, 2019
When @KapilSharmaK9 appreciates somebody’s humour, it sure makes that person happy and I am no exception. :)
Thank you for the kind words Kapil. https://t.co/SHVTH6vI8p
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 20, 2019
With the PM of our beloved country and the President of my house. What a beautiful function today – the inauguration of India’s 1st museum of cinema spanning 100 years of Indian film making pic.twitter.com/UpQ1UIj8J0
— ashabhosle (@ashabhosle) January 19, 2019
Veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle also posted a photo of herself with PM Modi on Twitter. She wrote, “With the PM of our beloved country and the President of my house. What a beautiful function today – the inauguration of India’s 1st museum of cinema spanning 100 years of Indian film making.”
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli also shared a photo of himself on Twitter with Modi and wrote, “Had the privilege to meet our honorable prime minister Shri @narendramodi in Mumbai.”
Had the privilege to meet our honorable prime minister Shri @narendramodi in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/YUMunh7OsD
— kunal kohli (@kunalkohli) January 19, 2019
At the opening of National Museum of Indian Cinema! @PMOIndia @prasoonjoshi_ @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/b8Iye6KxF2
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) January 19, 2019
Ekta Kapoor posted a photo of her father and actor Jeetendra with Modi on Instagram. She captioned it, “JAI HIND ! my dads fan moment !my dad is a big fan of the honorable PRIME MINISTER n today he met him ….🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼.”
Music director and composer AR Rahman also shared a photo of himself interacting with Modi. He wrote on Twitter, “At the opening of National Museum of Indian Cinema! @PMOIndia @prasoonjoshi_ @narendramodi.”
