First look of Manmohan Singh's biopic 'Accidental Prime Minister' starring Anupam Kher released

The first look of the movie The Accidental Prime Minister starring Anupam Kher as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was released on Wednesday, June 7.

Anupam Kher all set to play PM Manmohan Singh in 'The Accidental Prime Minister'

The upcoming film is based on the book written by Singh's former media adviser Sanjay Baru. Baru had served as Singh's adviser from 2004 to 2008 and had written the book -- The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh -- in 2014 in which he was critical of Singh's first term as the PM. The book was released in 2014.

Here's the first poster of the upcoming movie.

The movie, which is set to hit theatres in 2018 just before the 2019 general election, is being produced by Sunil Bohra. National award-winning director Hansal Mehta has written the screenplay for the film, which will be directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte.

Bohra said the film would be a "political drama grander than Richard Attenborough's Academy award-winning Gandhi."

According to the Economic Times, Bohra said, "The research on the movie is already over. Auditioning (for the remaining cast) is in its final lap. The movie will hit the screens next year."

Kher, who is eager to take up the challenge, 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," added Kher, who is known to openly support Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular.