A shoddy attempt: 'The Accidental Prime Minister' lacks both depth, focus

Manmohan Singh, who was pilloried by the press as a “weak prime minister”, famously claimed at the end of his tenure that “history will be kinder to me”. His stock has risen since his exit after a turbulent second term, and The Accidental Prime Minister, much like the book that it is based on, judges him kindly. But the makers of the movie have little reason to anticipate a rousing reception, now or later.

A breezy but shallow account, focussed mainly on the first term of the Congress-led alliance, tries to cover a lot of ground in 110 minutes. The