Did Akshaye Khanna sign up for The Accidental Prime Minister because of his family background in politics? Here's the truth

By Bollywood Reporter

on January 03, 2019

Ahead of the release of his film The Accidental Prime Minister, Akshaye Khanna said that he doesn't "actively" follow politics nor does he hold a proper understanding of it. The Vijay Ratnakar Gutte-directed film casts Anupam Kher as Dr. Manmohan Singh - written by Mayank Tewari, the film is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Dr. Singh's media advisor Sanjaya Baru. Akshaye plays the role of Baru in the film.

During his interview with a leading daily, Akshaye was asked to comment on Vijay Gutte's statement as the director had said that Akshaye was approached for the role of Baru because his family has a background in politics. The actor, however, disagreed to the statement and clarified Vijay's point. Akshaye's father, veteran actor Vinod Khanna was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Lok Sabha from Punjab's Gurdaspur constituency.

[caption id="attachment_192063" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Akshaye and Anupam Kher in a poster of The Accidental Prime Minister[/caption]

"No, what he said is that Akshaye's father (the late Vinod Khanna) was in politics so when I gave him the script, he understood it from the point of view of a film and maybe also a little bit from the political perspective. But that's his opinion. I personally don't agree with him," Akshaye told the daily.

Moreover, Akshaye, during his interview, also said that he was not the first person who was approached to play the role of Baru in The Accidental Prime Minister.

"I read the newspapers, watch the news, but I don't actively follow politics nor do I understand how it works. And I was not the first person he approached. He took the role to many actors. They all said "no" before he came to me," Akshaye added.

[caption id="attachment_147226" align="aligncenter" width="706"] Akshaye Khanna[/caption]

Manmohan Singh, economist and politician, served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance. The Accidental Prime Minister will release on January 11.