He may have played Nelson Mandela in a movie, but that probably doesn't justify mistaking Morgan Freeman for Madiba himself.

An Indian businessman is the laughingstock of the subcontinent after financing a billboard honoring the late South African leader that features a photo of Freeman, who played Mandela in 2009's Invictus.

"We should be proud that we were part of an era when they lived," reads the Tamil-language sign posted in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

That statement could obviously apply to both Freeman and Mandela, but the merchant who purchased the billboard says it was meant for Mandela.

"We will replace it with the correct picture of Mandela," he assured the AFP, adding that he didn't know how the mix-up occurred, but that it was the designer who was to blame. Naturally.

[H/T: Uproxx, photo via Twitter]