‘Portraying Dr Singh Was Most Challenging’

‘I
had
to
make
sure
that
our
much
misunderstood
erstwhile
prime
minister
did
not
get
a
raw
deal.’

Anupam
Kher
posted
a


heartfelt
tribute
to
Dr
Manmohan
Singh,
who
passed
into
the
ages
on
December
26.

Kher
played
Dr
Singh
in
the
film

The
Accidental
Prime
Minister,
which
opened
to


mixed
reviews
and
reactions.

“Manmohan
Singhji‘s
walk,
his
personality,
his
style
of
speaking
are
in
the
public
consciousness.
I
could
have
easily
fallen
into
the
trap
of
mimicry
but
I
avoided
that,”
Kher
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

You
played
Manmohan
Singhji
in

The
Accidental
Prime
Minister.

It
is
easy
to
play
a
personality
who
is
someone
long
gone,
no
matter
how
distinguished.

With
due
respects
to
Ben
Kingsley
who
was
simply
outstanding,
he
played
Mahatma
Gandhi
long
after
the
original
character’s
physicality
was
a
hazy
memory
on
bank
notes
and
vague
documentaries.

On
the
other
hand,
I
had
to
play
someone
who
is
very
much
in
the
public
domain.

Manmohan
Singhji‘s
walk,
his
personality,
his
style
of
speaking
are
in
the
public
consciousness.

It
is
the
most
challenging
role
of
my
career.

I
could
have
easily
fallen
into
the
trap
of
mimicry
but
I
avoided
that.

I
could
have
ended
up
being
caricaturish.

How
would
you
rate
your
performance
as
Manmohan
Singh?

I
gave
it
my
entire
concentration.

We
worked
hard
to
make
an
epic
homage
to
a
man,
scholar
and
politician,
who
is
misunderstood,
or
rather
hardly
understood.

We
were
not
looking
at
the
bio-pic
on
Manmohan
Singhji
as
a
small
film.

We
made
every
effort
to
give
the
film
the
epic
look
that
the
man
deserves.

Did
Manmohanji
see
the
film?

Dr
Singh
was
always
bound
by
what
his
party’s
high
command
wants.

He
may
not
have
wanted
to
disrespect
their
sentiments
by
seeing
a
film
which
did
not
flatter
the
Congress.

I
respect
Dr
Singh
even
more
for
being
so
sensitive
to
the
wishes
of
his
high
command.

The
film
didn’t
get
favourable
reviews.

I
was
ridiculed
by
knowledgeable
critics
for
my
performance.

My
political
loyalties
were
questioned.

But
finally,
it
is
the
public
which
gave
the
film
the
acceptance
we
had
hoped
for.

Portraying
Dr
Singh
was
the
most
difficult
role
of
my
life.

I
had
to
make
sure
that
our
much
misunderstood
erstwhile
prime
minister
did
not
get
a
raw
deal.
That’s
what
he
got
during
his
tenure
as
the
prime
minister.

We
didn’t
want
him
to
suffer
more
of
the
same
indignity
in
our
film.

I
am
proud
to
have
played
Dr
Singh
with
such
dignity.