Anupam Kher to play Manmohan Singh in The Accidental Prime Minister adaptation

Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been signed to play the role of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the film based on the book 'The Accidental Prime Minister'.

The Accidental Prime Minster was written by Sanjay Baru who was the media advisor to Manmohan Singh from May 2004 to August 2008, during the UPA government's first regime. The book was released around the time of 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the country.

In the book, the author has claimed that the former PM was defanged by the Congress and all the major appointments and decision were taken by party president Sonia Gandhi.

The filmmakers have already announced that the film will hit theatres in December 2018, just a few months before the 2019 General Elections. The first look will be released on June 7, 2017.

Promising to depict the then political scenario in most realistic form, film’s producer Sunil Bohra claimed that the film will be a grander political drama than that of Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, which saw Hollywood legend Ben Kingsley in the leading role.

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The yet untitled project will be the directorial debut of Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, while the screenplay has been written by 'Aligarh' director Hansal Mehta. The remaining cast of the movie is yet to be finalised.

Speaking about his role, Anupam Kher said, "Acting the role of anyone in contemporary history is extremely challenging, as comparisons are bound to be instant and inevitable. But as I have always revelled in challenges, right from my first film Saaransh, I look forward to the experience of portraying former PM Manmohan Singh."

It may be mentioned that Anupam is familiar to the political drama genre as he had received a Special Mention at the National Film Awards for exceptionally essaying the role of Uttam Chaudhary in 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara'.