Amitabh Bachchan To Play Former PM Narasimha Rao In The Web Series Half Lion: Reports

Former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was recently posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. In the latest update, Applause Entertainment has teamed up with Aha Studio to produce a biographical series called Half Lion. The bilingual biopic series centres around the life of the late Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

The series Half Lion is set to premiere in the second half of 2024 and will be released in several languages, including Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. According to credible sources, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan is the frontrunner to portray Rao in the biopic, which is directed by Prakash Jha. However, no official confirmation has been made yet.

Half Lion delves into the significant role of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in India’s development after independence. This prestigious accolade recognises his noteworthy contributions during his tenure from 1991 to 1996. The series is adapted from the book with the same title written by Vinay Sitapati.

Heading the series will be Prakash Jha, a National award-winning director renowned for his directorial prowess in socio-political themes. Jha’s acclaimed works include films like Gangaajal, Apaharan and Rajneeti, as well as the award-winning drama series Ashram, among others.

Prakash Jha and Amitabh Bachchan have previously collaborated on two films, Aarakshan and Satyagraha, both based on real-life characters. Despite their collaboration, both films failed to perform well at the box office.

Amitabh Bachchan has several other films in his slate, including Be Happy, Taalismaan, Wisdom for Heroes, The Great Man, Section 84, The Intern, Karishmaa and The Umesh Chronicles, among others. The actor was last seen in Vikas Bahl’s directorial Ganapath, which bombed at the box office.

His upcoming film, Nag Ashwin’s directorial Kalki 2898 AD, is all set to hit the silver screens on May 9. The film also stars Deepika Padukone and Prabhas in leading roles, with actors including Disha Patani, Dulquer Salmaan, Kamal Haasan, S.S. Rajamouli, and Jagapathi Babu in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, Prakash Jha made his directorial debut with the 1984 film Hip Hip Hurray and has several projects in the pipeline, including Laal Batti, Pareeksha, Sankalp and Janadesh.