Playing By The Book

No political agenda; only entertainment, say makers of The Accidental Prime Minister.

- Priyanka Bhadani

Almost a month before the trailer of The Accidental Prime Minister dropped, I met its director, Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, 33, at a high-rise in Andheri, Mumbai. Son of sugar baron Ratnakar Gutte and producer of three vaguely remembered films—The Film Emotional Atyachar, Time Bara Vait (Marathi) and Badmashiyaan—Vijay was arrested for a GST fraud of 34 crore last year and later released on bail.

As I was guided towards his apartment’s balcony, an aroma wafted in. What’s cooking? A recipe for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, perhaps, considering that the film, based on Sanjaya Baru’s namesake book, is in the news more for political reasons. Dressed in shorts and a tee, Vijay looked tired. He had been working on post-production and was behind schedule, he said. The film’s journey began when its producer, Sunil Bohra, came across the book at an airport. Not a reader, he read this one and was quite impressed with it. He then contacted Baru and got the film rights for the book in September 2015. That was the easy part. For, none of the film studios he contacted wanted to be associated with the film. “Raising funds to make the film was very hard. It was a daunting task to put together the actors and the director, too. We started shooting for it only in early 2018,” he said. Researching for the film also took time, he said, as not many knew the inside workings of the Prime Minister’s Office. But, he has faith in Vijay. “Being a first-time director, he has put all his energies into the film,” he said.

Bohra then got Vijay to read the book. While he really liked it, Vijay said, “I was not very convinced about making a film though. Reading a book is a different experience than watching a film. I told him that I want to meet Sanjaya Baru before taking a decision.”