Narendra Modi is on a media drive. He’s given more one-on-one interviews to national news channels in the last month than most politicians have in their entire political career. One of his first shots at a one-on-one interview was on Rajat Sharma’s Aap Ki Adalat – which was more PR exercise and less media interrogation.

The quality of the interviews (and Modi’s responses in general) has only got better since.

Barely a few days after the India TV interview, Modi was interviewed by Smita Prakash, Editor – News, Asian News International (ANI). For the most part, it was a serious no-nonsense affair, almost dull in comparison to the histrionics-heavy interview on India TV.  The interview and the interviewee, however, left quite a few people enamoured – including the interviewer. There were the usual naysayers, but far fewer in number than the admirers, who didn’t think much of the ANI interview. Before you could fully process Modi’s turn in front of ANI, though, another interview had hit the airwaves. This one was with Sanjay Pugalia of CNBC Awaaz and was on similar lines as ANI. Modi seemed to be totally at ease and parried every question without hesitation.

Going by these three interviews, you wouldn’t have been incorrect in thinking that the one-on-one interview format was as popular with Modi as his 3D holograms are. Close on their heels, came another interview – this time with ABP News. This interview, which was part of the ABP News series Ghoshnapatra, stirred up a bit of a Twitter storm because ABP News for reasons known best to them decided to conduct the interview without their usual studio audience. An audience which is invited to ask the interviewee questions during the programme.

This was the first time Ghoshnapatra didn’t have an audience – live or otherwise. Even while interviewing Raj Thackeray – who isn’t very conducive to being questioned – ABP News had stuck to the format of conducting the interview in front of a studio audience. An audience which didn’t seem to be to taken up with Thackeray and earned his ire more than once during the course of the show.

However, it was the DD News interview which created the biggest controversy – a controversy that seems to be completely the media’s making. On May 1, 2014, The Times of India reported that DD News had edited out a portion of the interview in which Modi says that Priyanka Gandhi is “like his daughter”. What followed was much discourse on social media and news channels on what had been edited and why it should not have been edited. Priyanka Gandhi was also questioned on how she felt about the statement.

It soon emerged that Modi had actually said the following: “A daughter will do anything for her mother, for her brother. She should get an opportunity to do so as well. Who else will she do it for if not for her mother and brother? I will never take offence at whatever Priyanka says as a daughter. A daughter is after all a daughter”. The only thing common thread in the two versions, as is apparent, is the word “daughter”.

Now that we know what he did NOT say, the question is – did Narendra Modi have enough to say during all these interviews? The answer is – No. Modi discussed pretty much the same set of subjects in all of them. He spoke at length about de-centralisation and empowering states, to achieve which he said he is more than willing to work with non-BJP Chief Ministers of states. (Yes, we can imagine Mamata Banerjee throwing her paint brush at the nearest canvas in a fit of rage upon hearing this.) His willingness to delve into the how-of-it, an aspect often ignored by politicians during interviews, which included taking into account real-time data while taking decisions on matters related to agriculture, was impressive. In fact, in terms of policy and administrative matters, Modi made all the right noises and said all the right things. A more succinct synopsis of all of Narendra Modi’s utterances during his recent interviews can be found on his Linkedin Page – created exclusively by an always-on-its-toes PR team.

To add a human touch, Modi also shared buckets of personal trivia during the interviews – which didn’t make their way to his Linkedin page. He mentioned how he has always shared a great personal equation with Sharad Pawar and that he’s managed to take out time to watch only two movies – Paa and A Wednesday – in the last few years. (Sorry Preity Zinta, you may be supporting Modi but even he didn’t watch your magnum opus, Ishkq in Paris.) He also answered questions on how he once caught a baby crocodile and brought it home, and that he sleeps only three-and-a-half hours at night. It’s safe to say that we learnt a lot about Modi after these interviews – from his views on governance to animal welfare.

So was Modi the perfect interviewee in all these interviews? Not really. He religiously avoided questions on his rapport with the Ambanis and Adanis. Each time an interviewer asked him about either, he dodged the question and said that it was a question only “newstraders” were interested in – not real journalists. He also steered clear of saying anything at all on the snooping controversy – which directly involves one of his most trusted aides, Amit Shah. Not that any of the interviewers asked him about Snoopgate. He also seemed fiercely reticent when it came to the issue of gas pricing. However, he was far more upfront and forthcoming when it came to the question of administrative culpability for the 2002 riots.

What Modi has managed to do with this plethora of interviews, is bust the myth that he doesn’t want to be questioned and is averse to being interviewed. Modi has pipped the other two politicians who are being spoken of in the same breath as him – Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejirwal –  to the post when it comes to allowing the media to question them. (The less said about Rahul Gandhi’s last two interviews, the better.) It is true, though, that Modi has not yet given an interview to any of the journalists who are often considered to be critical of him – whether it be Barkha Dutt or Rajdeep Sardesai or Karan Thapar. But this is a land of free choice, and Modi is exercising his – while ensuring that he remains omnipresent on our airwaves. Will this interview frenzy have an impact on getting him more votes? All of us – including him – will know in another 15 days.