Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS): On Lal Bahadur Shastri's 52nd death anniversary on Thursday, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri announced he has roped in veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakaraborty for a movie on the former Prime Minister's controversial death.
The investigative thriller film is titled "The Tashkent Files".
"A film on the biggest cover-up of a free India required that we work with great actors with credibility. Both Naseer and Mithunda are multiple-time National Award winners. It is a privilege to work with such involved and passionate actors of our times," Agnihotri told IANS.
The movie will have two sides to the narrative and its story is a crowd-sourced idea, read a statement issued on behalf of the makers.
On Thursday, Agnihotri tweeted: "On this day, our second PM Lal Bahadur Shashtri died mysteriously in Tashkent. Was it heart attack or poison? Even after 52 years, the truth of the biggest cover-up of free India has been denied to his family, followers, citizens. After years of research, I present 'The Tashkent Files'."
The director will cast a prominent actor for the role of Shastri. The announcement will happen soon. The film goes on floors next week.
Shastri died in Tashkent, then in the Soviet Union, soon after signing a peace pact with Pakistani rulers to end the 1965 India-Pakistan war.