Naseeruddin Shah to play THIS role in the Tashkent Files | Photo Credit: Instagram

After the release of The Accidental Prime Minister starring Anupam Kher, a biopic based on our current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hit the screen soon. Now, another political drama, that relates to the death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, is making headlines. Titled Tashkent Files, the film is helmed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, and several posters of the film revealing the cast, dropped on the internet recently.

The Tashkent Files will feature prominent actors including Pallavi Joshi as Aiysha Ali Shah, Pankaj Tripathi as Gangaram Jha, Shweta Basu Prasad as Raagini Phule, Mithun Chakraborty as Shyam Sundar Tripathi. While the makers unveiled the roles of the above actors, the film will also star Vinay Pathak, Mandira Bedi, Ankur Rathee and Prakash Belawadi in pivotal roles. Recently, trade analyst and film critic Taran Adarsh took to his social media account to share the look of Naseeruddin Shah, who will be essaying the role of PKR Natrajan in the film. His caption read, "Naseeruddin Shah... #TheTashkentFiles trailer on 25 March 2019... Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri... 12 April 2019 release."

Naseeruddin Shah... #TheTashkentFiles trailer on 25 March 2019... Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri... 12 April 2019 release. pic.twitter.com/vgFH7xCEbd — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 23, 2019

A while ago, a poster of the Tashkent Files surfaced the internet, that made fans nothing but eager to watch the film. Check out the poster below:

All set for 12 April 2019 release... New poster of #TheTashkentFiles... Stars Mithun Chakraborty, Naseeruddin Shah, Shweta Basu Prasad, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Mandira Bedi, Pallavi Joshi, Ankur Rathee and Prakash Belawadi... Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. pic.twitter.com/EyEIwa3S78 — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 20, 2019

According to a report in Outlookindia.com, Vivek revealed that he made this film after many political leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George Fernandes expressed the need for dealing with the mystery behind Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death. In another interview with PTI, the filmmaker was quoted as saying, "On January 10, 1966, Shastri had signed the Tashkent Agreement and hours later he died. A death mystery unsolved to date. Was it a heart attack or poison? The truth of the biggest coverup has been denied to his family and us."

He further added, "Immediately after his death, the family members of Shastri officially requested a post-mortem to the then acting Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda, but to no avail, Vivek said. The family also had requested former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, but was not heeded to once again."

"This issue has been raised in Parliament for the last 50 years and yet, we are trying to find out the truth. I picked up the gauntlet and tried finding the truth, and hence I filed RTIs, but I was shattered," said Vivek.

The Tashkent Files is slated for an April 12 release.