Manmohan Singh

Narendra Modi

Indira Gandhi

Himant Kapadiya as Narendra Modi; Danielle Petite and Aswini Kumar as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi; Raju Kher as Manmohan Singh

Anupam Kher

Raju Kher

Bollywood

With the elections just a couple of months away, it’s raining politicians on screen. After The Accidental Prime Minister, based on Sanjaya Baru’s memoir on, and a series of films featuring, including a biopic on the PM, Mirror has learnt that a film on Rahul Gandhi titled My Name Is Ra Ga is now being made. The film, which is nearing completion, starts with former PM,’s assassination in 1984 and ends before the upcoming election.“My film starts with Rahul Gandhi’s childhood and continues to the present when he is mired in political controversies. It’s about his life as a student in the US to becoming the president of the Indian National Congress,” informs journalist-turned-director Rupesh Paul who has also scripted it based on encounters with those close to Rahul.Rupesh says he has not got in touch with any political leader, including those from the Gandhi family, for permission because “all the information is in the public domain”. Reiterating that his film is based on facts, he says that “there is no need to get any clearance”. “If we keep the names aside, it’s a story of every man who has gone through multiple and repeated failures before tasting success. I was deeply inspired by his fight which I saw closely as a journalist,” shares the filmmaker.Aswini Kumar plays Rahul while Himant Kapadiya will portray Modi in the film. “I wanted to get bigger names on board but in the current political scenario, everyone is wary. I am still trying to get a significant actor on board for the remaining portions,” Rupesh informs. Quiz him on censor trouble and he retorts, “I don’t think there will be an issue because the intention isn’t to malign anyone.”Whilewas recently seen as Manmohan Singh in The Accidental Prime Minister, the actor's brother,steps in to play the former Indian PM in this film. “After rejections from many actors (whom he doesn’t wish to name), I was surprised Raju sir agreed to play Manmohan Singh. He has given a different arc to it,” he says. What did he think of The Accidental Prime Minister? “I accepted the film but not its tone. The director should have done justice to the film by staying true to real-life incidents. But it has opened a new genre in, giving us the courage to make political films.”