(Image via indiatoday.com)
Under fire for an insipid, lackluster voice-over in his recent interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, PM Narendra Modi announced that he will use the “Talking Tomcat” app for his voice-over in future international interviews.
“After the one with Karan Thapar, this is the only interview where I’ve gotten so many gaalis, quite a few of them even from my own supporters,” PM Modi told The UnReal Times. “Many of them mentioned that it was the first ever time they slept through a Modi interview. There was only one person who called this as my best interview ever and that was Malini Parthasarathy ji of The Hindu,” Modi added.
“I then decided that from my next international interview onwards, I’ll use the Talking TomCat app for my voiceover. People will at least laugh, instead of giving me gaalis and bashing me,” Modi said. According to sources, Modi has hired a special celebrity app designer, Toy Pasta, to re-design the Talking Tomcat app with added Hindi to English translation abilities.
A number of Modi admirers have welcomed the move, with eminent economist Bibek Debroy tweeting:
So it’s going to be a cat that would talk,
And be more entertaining than Jack and the Beanstalk!
This is an interesting plan that Modi has come to chalk,
but will the cat’s talk be one that it could also walk?
However, fresh trouble brewed in the ruling party, with animal rights advocate and Minister for Women and Child empowerment, Smt. Maneka Gandhi raising her voice against the PM’s decision. “So what if it’s digital? An animal is being subject to the cruelty of translating the PM’s laborious statements and speaking them out cheerfully and funnily. This is not fun, Modiji!” Gandhi thundered. She was soon supported by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar. “Wow, Maneka! That’s bloody awesome! Spoken like a true Nehru-Gandhi girl!” exclaimed Mani, wiping tears of joy.