Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who portrayed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2019 film The Accidental Prime Minister, on Friday said he had initially turned down the role due to “political reasons”.

“When the film was offered to me, initially I had rejected the role for various reasons... political reasons, mainly. I thought if I portrayed Dr Singh on screen, people might accuse me of caricaturing him,” Kher said in a video message he shared on Instagram.

Reflecting on Singh's legacy as a leader and as a person, while also reminiscing about preparing for his role in the film, Kher described Singh as an “inherently good man, gentle, bright, brilliant, and kind”. He recalled meeting him twice at events, saying, “He was always very kind and generous to me. He praised the films I acted in.”

Even though Kher initially turned down The Accidental Prime Minister role, he later embraced the character, he said, describing it as one of the most authentic performances of his career. Kher said he felt he had “imbibed” some of Singh's qualities during the filming.

“If I had to choose three or four roles from my acting career, which I portrayed truthfully, The Accidental Prime Minister would feature among them,” he said.

“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! 💔🙏,” Kher wrote in the caption.

Directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, The Accidental Prime Minister is based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru, who served as Dr. Manmohan Singh’s media advisor. The film also starred Akshaye Khanna, Suzanne Bernert, Arjun Mathur and Aahana Kumra.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, who served as India's Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. The Indian government has declared a seven-day state mourning. His funeral is scheduled to take place tomorrow, December 28.

Tributes have been pouring in for the former Prime Minister from across the country. Film stars across industries like Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Madhuri Dixit, Riteish Deshmukh, Sunny Deol, Rituparna Sengupta, Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh and Swara Bhasker have expressed their condolences.