First Look: Akshay Kumar's Mogul

'I had the good fortune of knowing Gulshanji (Kumar) well. My association with him started right from my first film Saugandh. We shared many things in common and come from a similar background. And I am very excited to play him on-screen.'

Akshay Kumar has announced that he will essay the role of music mogul Gulshan Kumar in a biopic titled Mogul.

The 49-year-old star, who has started shooting for Pad Man, unveiled the first look of Mogul on Twitter, above.

'I had the good fortune of knowing Gulshanji well. My association with him started right from my first film Saugandh. We shared many things in common and come from a similar background. And I am very excited to play him on-screen,' Akshay said in a statement.

The action star shared a special bond with Gulshan, seen above, who was shot dead outside the Jeeteshwar Mahadev temple in Mumbai in August 1997, from the time he made his Bollywood debut with Saugandh in 1991.

The first poster of the film shows the head of Kumar embossed on a golden backdrop with a cassette in the middle, along with the tagline 'The Emperor of Music.'

From being a household name with his devotional music to becoming the one-man music industry with T-Series, Gulshan's larger-than-life story is set to get captured in his biopic.

Akshay will team up with his Jolly LLB 2 director Subhash Kapoor in the film.

Gulshan Kumar was very attached to his younger daughter Tulsi Kumar and that's why Mogul has been announced today on her birthday today, March 15.

Produced by Gulshan's wife Sudesh Kumari, the biopic is slated for release in 2018.

• A peek into Tulsi Kumar's BEAUTIFUL house