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Morgan Freeman mistaken for Mandela on billboard

Actor's face next to Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa.

Freeman... or is it Nelson Mandela? (Copyright: Twitter)

Morgan Freeman's turn in the movie 'Invictus' was clearly a little too convincing.

A billboard spotted in Coimbatore, southern India, mistakenly has the Hollywood star's face emblazoned on it in a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela.

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Clothing merchant Chandrashekhar paid for the billboard, one of many across India paying tribute to the South African leader, but says that the mistake was made by the designer.

The slogan, written in Tamil, says 'We should be proud that we were part of an era when they lived', with Freeman's face next to those of Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Gandhi.

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“We will replace it with the correct picture of Mandela,” said the merchant.

The tribute was made after India declared five days of mourning for Mandela, who died on December 5.

Freeman played Mandela in Clint Eastwood's 2009 film 'Invictus', opposite Matt Damon, who played Springboks captain Francois Pienaar.