Anupam Kher pays rich tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh: Nation has lost a very honest human being

Condolences have been pouring in ever since the news of former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's demise. Political, sports, and film personalities paid rich tribute to Dr Singh on social media.

Actor Anupam Kher, who played Singh in the film The Accidental Prime Minister, also shared a heartfelt video on X on Friday morning (Dec 27), paying tribute to the late leader.

Anupam Kher pays tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh

In a video clip shared on X, the actor recalled learning about his character, mannerisms, and physical aspects during the film's making. As many would recall, Kher had physically transformed himself and looked quite similar to Singh in the film.

The actor revealed he had initially declined the project for "political reasons" and added that he did not want people to think he was 'mocking' the great economist.

In the video, Kher said, "To portray a character truthfully, you have to go inside the person. Dr Manmohan Singh was inherently a good man; gentle, bright, intelligent and kind. And if you see The Accidental Prime Minister now, you will discover that I could to some extent imbibe all those qualities."

Anupam feels that this was one of the "most truthful portrayals' of his career. The actor added, "He was a very wonderful person. I am looking for words because people look for interpretation in words these days. "

"I am deeply saddened by his demise because I felt like I spent time with him."

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Anupam also recalled meeting Singh. "He was very kind to me, very generous to me, with his prayers for the film that I acted in."

"His most beautiful quality. he was honest and he was all ears. He has done a lot for the nation. Kindness is one of the most difficult qualities and he had that," added Kher.

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Kher concluded the video by saying, "I didn't want to make a caricature in the film. When the film was finally made, I was very happy I did justice to it. The subject may be controversial, the man was not. I will miss the man in the turban and may God rest his soul in peace. May his family have the courage to deal with this tragedy. Nation has lost a very honest human being and a great leader."

In the caption, he wrote, "Deeply saddened to know about the demise of former #PrimeMinister of India #DrManmohanSingh! Having studied him for more than a year for the movie #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister, it felt that I actually spent that much time with him. He was inherently a good man. Personally completely honest, great economist and a very humble person. Some can say may be not an astute politician! My heartfelt condolences to his family. Om Shanti!"

When it was released in 2018,The Accidental Prime Minister faced criticism for portraying Dr Singh in a negative light. While critics were not impressed with the film, the Congress party considered it to be "BJP propaganda."

The film was directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte and was based on former government official Sanjaya Baru's book by the same name. Apart from Kher, the film also featured Akshaye Khanna.

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