Anupam Kher will play Manmohan Singh in 'The Accidental Prime Minister'

Veteran actor Anupam Kher has been finalised to play Manmohan Singh in a movie based on former prime minister's media adviser Sanjaya Baru’s book, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’. 

To be directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, the memoir by Baru was critical of Singh's first term as PM and had coincided with the 2014 parliamentary polls. The movie is expected to hit the screens in December 2018, just ahead of the next general election in 2019. The first look will be unveiled on Wednesday.

Producer Sunil Bohra said it will be a political drama and the screenplay for the movie has been written by National award-winning director Hansal Mehta. On the other hand, the remaining cast is being decided and Anupam Kher confirmed that he has taken up the role.

As he spoke to Economic Times, he 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 PM Manmohan Singh”.

Speaking to The Economic Times, director Gutte said, "I am obliged to get a hold on the story that I truly believe has to be told with utmost honesty and integrity, a script as magnanimously relevant as this needed a perfect actor. I feel that the depth of maturity and demeanour required to portray the prime minister could have only been embodied by the versatile veteran, Anupam sir”.

The special focus of the film will be on the inside workings of the PMO under Singh.