His pictures having an uncanny resemblance to former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh have been into circulation in the last few months and Anupam Kher seems to have portrayed it with great conviction in the upcoming film THE ACCIDENTAL PRIME MINISTER reportedly based on the book with the same title by Sanjaya Baru. However, where one cannot comment upon the film’s content or impact before watching it (scheduled much before the upcoming elections due in 2019), there still is one unique fact related to the film and Anupam Kher, that probably doesn’t have any parallel in the history of Indian Cinema and its real-life based films.
The fact is, that probably Anupam Kher is the only Indian actor who has played two former Prime Ministers on the screen in two distinctive films proving his exceptional talent. In the upcoming film mentioned above he is playing Dr. Manmohan Singh as the accidental Prime Minister and back in 2007 he had played Late Rajiv Gandhi, in a Tamil film that revolved around his assassination.
KUTTRAPATHIRIKAI (Charge Sheet) written and directed by R. K. Selvamani, based on the unfortunate tragic event was another of those films which remained stuck for years waiting for its due Censor Board clearance and a certificate. The film that was made in 1991-92 had to wait for 15 years before reaching the screen in early 2007 post a clearance given by the court. Starring Ramki, Rahman, Ramya Krishnan, Roja, Vijayakumar and more in key roles, it had music by Ilaiyaraaja and a lot of drama served along the main crucial plot of the Prime Minister’s assassination.
Though Anupam Kher had just a couple of sequences and a few minutes appearance as the visiting Prime Minister in the film, he still sportingly did it grabbing the opportunity given, as mentioned in his short statement published in the March 92 issue of Showtime magazine.
Amazingly after a decade of KUTTRAPATHIRIKAI’s release, he is now playing another former Prime Minister of India in a more elaborate and full-length role, which is nothing less than a rare, unique achievement and probably the only example of its kind in our Indian cinema (or may be the World Cinema too).
Cheers!
(As per the current trend, you are sure to going to see many youtubers coming up with videos stating this fact in the coming days...... Hope they give the due credits to their sources too.......!)
(Note : Please do share if you have any information of an actor playing two Prime Ministers of his country in two different films in the World Cinema.)
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