Have friends in Opposition, Mamata sends me kurtas every year: PM Modi

In a chat with actor Akshay Kumar, Modi shares ‘lesser-known’ facts about himself

In a “non-political” interview to movie star Akshay Kumar, released on Wednesday to reveal some “lesser known facts” about him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared experiences of his youth, his motivations, his love for mangos and warm mustard oil to cure common cold.

The more than an hour-long interview, conducted at the PM’s official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, was released by news agency ANI. Kumar has been a supporter of the PM, including acting in a feature film that espoused the cause of Modi’s ‘swacchata’, or cleanliness, campaign.

In the conversation between the PM and Kumar, Modi revealed how he prefers Ayurveda to Allopathy, that he used to find the Assamese gamosa extremely handy while travelling and uses raw castor oil for his skin. Modi told Kumar he loved eating mangos as a child, but would pluck them off trees since his family did not have the money for such “luxuries”.

Modi said he never imagined he would be the prime minister. Alluding to his humble background, Modi said his mother would have been happy and distributed gur to her neighbours if he were to have found a good job. He said when he stepped out of his village one turn led to another, and it still surprises him that people shower so much love on him. He said he still did not send money to his mother, who has continued to send him money to this day.

The PM said he has good friends among opposition leaders. He said Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, sends him kurtas, while Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina sends sweets from Dhaka at least three-four times a year, and when Banerjee found this out she also started sending sweets to the PM.

The PM said he loved reading books when he was young, and dreamt of joining the Army during the 1962 war when he would see soldiers going to the battlefront at the Mehsana railway station. He also explored the possibility of taking admission in a Sainik school.

However, some years later, Modi said he spent time with saints and in ashrams, and even walked in the Himalayas. At an ashram in West Bengal, the PM said, the head priest would allow him to spend time in the room that Swami Vivekananda used to occupy.

The PM said he gets angry, like anyone else, but has worked on some tricks to control his anger. He said he has never expressed his anger whether on a peon or a senior bureaucrat because of his managerial style, which is democratic and focused on consensus building. Modi said he is strict, believes in discipline but does not express his anger because that tends to derail the agenda of a meeting.

Modi said he loved tea, and got the urge at 5 am, and again by 6 pm. Modi also spoke about his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, all that he learnt in its shakhas, and how he tries to appreciate the creativity behind the memes made on him.

He spoke about his friendship with former US president Barack Obama, and how Obama asked him who he could do with such little sleep. Modi said he did not have a bank account until he became the Gujarat chief minister (in 2001), and said he has donated the plot he purchased on concessional rates from the government to the party.

In the interview, Modi said he was aware of his criticism by Kumar’s author wife, Twinkle Khanna. The prime minister joked that Kumar must be leading a relatively “peaceful” life at home since Khanna vented all her anger against him on Twitter.

“I keep tabs on social media to know what is happening in the world. I also keep an eye on your and Twinkle Khanna’s Twitter accounts. The way she vents her anger against me, your family life must be quite peaceful. She would take out all the anger against me. You must be at peace. In a way, I feel I have helped you, especially in Twinkle ji’s case,” Modi said.

To this, Khanna tweeted: “I have a rather positive way of looking at this – Not only is the Prime Minister aware that I exist but he actually reads my work.” In the interview, billed as “candid and completely non-political”, the prime minister recalled meeting Khanna’s maternal grandfather, entrepreneur Chunnibhai Kapadia.

Reacting to the interview, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: “Akshay Kumar ji is a great actor and we like him. He is a very successful actor. An unsuccessful politician who has decimated India’s economy, who has decimated India’s jobs, who has made life hell for India’s farmers and the poor, is now trying to become a better actor than Akshay Kumar ji.”

“It seems a failed politician who is about to be rejected on May 23, 2019, is looking for an alternative employment avenue in Bollywood, but I don’t think so, a failed politician like Modi ji will be a successful actor in Bollywood. Akshay Kumar will remain Akshay Kumar,” Surjewala said.