WB textbook puts Farhan Akhtar photograph as Milkha Singh

A photograph of a school textbook in West Bengal depicting Farhan Akhtar as legendary athlete Milkha Singh has gone viral on the social media and the actor has urged the state government to rectify the "glaring error".

The 44-year-old, who essayed the role of Singh in the 2013 biopic "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", took to Twitter to point out that a still from the film had been incorrectly used in the book instead of the real athlete's photo.

"To the Minister of School Education, West Bengal. There is a glaring error with the image used in one of the school text books to depict Milkha Singh-ji. Could you please request the publisher to recall and replace this book? Sincerely," Akhtar wrote, while retweeting the image shared by a Twitter user.

The actor-director also tagged Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien to draw his attention to the post.

Reacting to the issue, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the government would look into it. "We have been informed about Akhtar's tweet. We are inquiring into it. We are trying to find out the details about the textbook, of which class and which publication. We will take necessary steps after getting all the details," he told reporters in Kolkata.

Singh, known as The Flying Sikh, became the first Indian to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games (1958).

Akhtar received critical acclaim and accolades for his performance and "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" bagged two National Awards in Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Choreography categories.