Bollywood has a going away present for President George W. Bush as he prepares to leave the White House: a gag movie that makes him the butt of every joke.
The new film “The President is Coming,” uses Bush’s 2006 trip to Mumbai as a springboard for a fictional comedy in which six young Indians compete to shake the President’s hand.
In the story, Bush has agreed to shake the hand of one young person who represents promise for India’s future – and officials at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai proceed to put the candidates through a battery of wacky tests to choose a winner.
Directed by Indian filmmaker Kunaal Roy Kapur, the film is apparently also an homage Bush’s infamous tendency for verbal gaffes at public speaking events.
“Bush is more of a sort of metaphor for the things that America represents – good or bad – but he’s also used as a bit of a punching bag because he’s an easy target,” Kapur, 29, told Reuters.
The English-language movie is shot in a mock documentary style and cost about $615,000 to make, according to Kapur.
The film – which is based on a play by the same name – opens Friday in India, just days before President-elect Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20.
“It’s definitely a nice little goodbye present for Bush,” Kapur said.
