Minister’
It was a task for the casting team of the ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ to cast an actor for the role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Vijay Guttee, the director had already rejected around 50 actors for the role and the shoot was three days away. The production team was yet to finalize the actor to play the late politician. It was a last minute decision when a tea vendor was short-listed to play the role as he had the same charm and charisma as the former Prime Minister.
Ram Avatar Bhardwaj, the tea-seller was keen to play the role. He says, “I don’t have any political experience. But people have always told me that I look like Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee when I smile, so I guess. I was used to the idea of being called Atalji.’’ Even during the shoot, the fans of the former Prime Minister would gather around the set to click pictures with the reel Vajpayee.