Indian Uses Morgan Freeman’s Photo In Mandela Tribute

nelson-mandela-and-morgan-freeman

An Indian owner of a billboard dedicated to Nelson Mandela was left red-faced after a photo of Morgan Freeman was used instead of one of Mandela.

The billboard was erected on the side of a road in the southern city of Coimbatore as part of memorials across India and the world to Mandela, who died on December 5.

But Freeman’s face loomed large in the billboard over small images of rights icons Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi.

“We should be proud that we were part of an era when they lived,” read the Tamil-language condolence message on the board.

Cloth merchant Chandrashekhar, who paid for the board in a private capacity as a mark of respect to the former South African leader, said it was a mistake by the designer.

Morgan Freeman with Nelson Mandela
Morgan Freeman with Nelson Mandela

“We will replace it with the correct picture of Mandela,” the merchant, who uses one name, said from the state capital Chennai, adding that he did not know how the gaffe occurred.

Morgan Freeman played Mandela in the 2009 film Invictus. [AFP]