Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who is essaying the role of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in "The Accidental Prime Minister", said Thursday the film is a "game changer" in political biopics as it does not shy away from taking real names.
The film is based on the book of the same name, written by Sanjay Baru, who served as Singh's media advisor 2004 to 2008. Akshaye Khanna features as Baru.
The trailer shows Singh as the victim of the inside politics of the Congress party ahead of 2014 general elections, which the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) lost.
Asked if the ruling BJP government, which lost three state elections recently to Congress, would use the film as a tool in the run-up for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Kher said, "If I would have been in politics I would have definitely told them to do so. But I am an actor, they will decide."
"I don't need to have political ambitions to talk about my country as people think either he is bhakt (devotee) of a party or bika hua hai (he is a sell-out). I have the right to talk about the country. If that goes in favour of some party, that is a different issue. Unfortunately, when you speak about politics in our country people think you have political ambition."
"That 'be' is important and it is not easy to portray him. It is easy for a character to become caricaturish. I was constantly walking on a razor's edge. Our director Vijay is a good criticiser, he is difficult to please."
"He was an economist brought in as a finance secretary and then finance minister and then he became the prime minister, that is how he was the Accidental Prime Minister. I like his sense of humour as recently he said he was not only an accidental Prime Minister but accidental Finance Minister as well."
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