For those who complain we see too little of the very gifted, very selective Akshaye Khanna, here’s good news…
The actor has signed on to play Sanjaya Baru in the forthcoming political movie The Accidental Prime Minister, which is based on Baru’s controversial book. “I am thrilled and excited to be a part of a venture which will be path breaker, a game changer at many levels,” said Akshaye. He hasn’t yet had the “privilege” to meet Baru, but Khanna is thoroughly impressed by his work. “The balance which he (Baru) gave to the book needs to be admired,” he raved.
About his role, the actor maintains, “I realised that it is a very important movie, whether I was a part of it or not was secondary. Even if my role was insignificant I would have still done it.” That said, he confirms that his role in the film is “outstanding” while the screenplay “divine”.
Now that is gushing praise, indeed!
However, his move can be looked at with some doubt. After all, he is the son of the late Vinod Khanna, who was a BJP MP. What’s more, the film is set to release on December 21 this year, just months before the general elections in 2019…
Akshaye dismisses any such suspicion, claiming there is “no agenda”. He adds, “It is very natural to suspect an agenda in a political thriller of such gravity. But I love the way my director and the entire team is approaching the movie without any agenda which is very important for a political film.”
The film will also see UK born Indian actor Arjun Mathur playing Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Buzz has it that the team is currently conducting research on the reason why Sonia Gandhi did not become the Prime Minister in 2004.
The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh is a 2014 memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, who was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media advisor from May 2004 to August 2008. The book alleges that Singh was not entirely in control of his cabinet—or even the Prime Minister's Office. Instead, it alleges that significant power was wielded by the Congress party's president Sonia Gandhi, to whom Singh was completely "subservient".
