From making Bihar his political bastion during the '90s to his alleged involvement in the fodder scam, Lalu Prasad Yadav's life offers enough material for a screen outing. It's not surprising then that the political drama, tentatively titled Maharani, will touch on the former Bihar chief minister's journey, among other plot points. mid-day has learnt that Sohum Shah of Tumbbad (2018) fame will play the politician in the web series.

The actor apparently began his prep in late September before reporting to the sets in Bhopal in November. "In his bid to look like Lalu Prasad Yadav on screen, Sohum had to gain 12 kilos in two months. He will have to shed the extra kilos as soon as he wraps the project in January as he has another series lined up," reveals a source. 

His shrewd politicking aside, Yadav would often fall back on his gift of the gab to woo the voters. Shah, on his part, has been working hard to perfect his muse's Bihari dialect. "Besides attending virtual workshops, he watched several videos of the politician to get the dialect and mannerisms," adds the source.

The ongoing marathon schedule in Bhopal will be followed by another stint in Mumbai next month. Subhash Kapoor, who was accused of sexual misconduct by Geetika Tyagi in 2014, serves as the showrunner on the project.