CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's journey from his childhood in Satauj village of Sangrur district to becoming a Member of Parliament and eventually the Chief Minister will be featured in a documentary titled `From Satauj to Sansad’, set to be released on the Discovery Channel OTT platform on August 30.
Is Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann following in the footsteps of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national convener of the AAP, Arvind Kejriwal? With the Punjab 2027 Assembly elections less than six months away, the documentary traces Mann's journey from his early life in Satauj to his political career and rise to the Chief Minister's Office.
The documentary, to be released in seven languages, features Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who shared a promotional video for the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary based on his life.
He described his journey as that of ``a man of the soil, a satirist who made people laugh and a Chief Minister who set a new standard of governance.’’
Mann shared the teaser of the documentary and urged people to watch it in a post on X, saying it would be aired in seven languages on August 30 at 7 pm. ``From Satauj to Sansad.
The special show based on my life, in 7 different languages, be sure to watch on Discovery Channel on August 30 (Sunday), 7 PM,” he wrote.
The documentary, which portrays CM Mann as a ``master’s son” and links his personal journey with his AAP government's achievements, traces Mann's early life at Satauj, his career as a satirist, his entry into politics through the People's Party of Punjab, and then his joining the Aam Aadmi Party.
It also traces his election as a Member of Parliament to the Lok Sabha in 2014 for the first time and again in 2019, before the AAP won the Assembly elections in 2022 and Mann became the Chief Minister.
The documentary, which recollects his rise from a rural background to the Chief Minister's Office, also features his mother Harpal Kaur, his sister Manpreet Kaur and friends from the entertainment industry.
The film might help the AAP build an election narrative centred on CM Mann's Punjabi identity and governance record, as the documentary highlights the Mann led AAP government's initiatives, including a universal health insurance initiative and the Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana, under which Rs 1,000 is provided to every woman in the state, as well as efforts to ensure canal water reaches the tail ends of irrigation networks.
Mann is not the first AAP leader on whom a documentary has been filmed.
Interestingly, a biopic, ``An Insignificant Man’’, was also made on national convener of the AAP and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, which traversed his journey to becoming an influential personality in politics.
It was first premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and later in India at the Mumbai Film Festival.
Meanwhile, in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi featured in the popular jungle survival programme "Man vs Wild" on Discovery Channel with British television adventurer Bear Grylls.