Main Atal Hoon Review: Pankaj Tripathi gives a wholehearted performance in this overdramatised film
Poster of Main Atal Hoon
Bollywood is in the mood for biopics, and so are we. This Friday, it's about a movie on the extraordinary life of one of the most cherished leaders of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in Ravi Jadav's Main Atal Hoo, starring Pankaj Tripathi.
Making a biography ona political figure has always been a tricky job, especially when half of the focus is on how to whitewash their past and show a clean image. Nevertheless, when it comes to political stalwarts like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Indian prime minister who was known for beingleast controversial and had a clean political career, the job becomes far easier. Throughout his life, Vajpayee's remarkable oratory and organising skills not only won over the hearts of his supporters but also his opponents.
It is a rather impossible task, to sum up the life of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, from his decades long political career to major achievements, in a two-hour film.
Ravi Jadav's Main Atal Hoon doesn't delve deep into the life of the late politician but stays on the surface as it gives the audience a concise overview of Vajpayee's life, remarkable endeavours, and ideologies as the leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and founder of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party currently in power in India.
How Main Atal Hoo Narrates the Life of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Inspired by Sarang Darshane’s book, Atalji: Kavihridayache Rashtranetyachi Charitkahani, the movie has Pankaj Tripathi playing the late PM.
The film starts with the Kargil War, a key event during Vajpayee's reign. The film then goes back in time, showing young and afraid Atal, who is trying to give a speech but runs away from stage. Watching his son humiliated and embarrassed, his father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, played by Piyush Mishra, gives him wise words on how to impress people with his words.
The story fast-forwards, and we see young Atal, an enthusiastic RSS member and college student-activist.
He goes on to study law, dedicating his entire life to Sangh, works as a journalist and through his strong grip on words goes on to earn praise, leaving a long-lasting impression on everyone he meets.
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Without plunging deep into the events of his life and leaving many questions unanswered, the movie, set against the backdrop of Vajpayee's poems and symphonies of his words, lacks when it comes to telling the story of a passionate and prominent personality like him.
In biopics, what we have is the content, and the trick is howimpactfullyyou can present the story of a person. Coming from Ravi Jadhav, a National Award-winning director, the narration of the movie is undeviating, making it an unimpactful watch.
The other thing that I found odd was how the movie was sketched out; it felt like a theatre play. When making a film about a personality who has spent theentire life in public, the makers should try to keep it as realistic as possible to make it more relatable to the audience. Many iconic scenes that wererecreated, whether it's his famous 1996 no-confidence motion or his Ramleela Maidan speech in 1977 that still gives goosebumps to
many, failed to impress
.
The first half of the Rishi Virmanu-scripted film fails to make an impact. Due to a fast-paced plot and a hurry to cover all the major events, the film fails to grab attention, and to some extentfeels like a marathon, with the story running in bullet points. For those in the audience already aware of Atal's life, it will be easy to understand. But for the young viewers, it will take a lot of google searches to understand the major historical events.
The movie starts to pick up from the second part, when the major milestones of Atal's life took place, like the formation of the BJP, the bus ride to Pakistan, and the Pokhran nuclear test.
But again, in a hurry to cover all and overdramatisationof everything, from the plot to the characters and even the music, it wasn't able to create the vibe that it should have.
On paper, the writing might look easy to understand, but how it is executed is what matters.
How is Pankaj Tripathi as Atal?
Pankaj Tripathi is an actor who puts a simple smile on the face of the audience whenever he comes to the screen. He's one of the most versatile and realistic actors in Bollywood right now. The actor, who is known for his comic roles, has put in a lot of hard work for the role of the iconic Indian leader. From the beginning to the end, in every speech and dialogue, Pankaj has tried to bringemotions to his performance for which he deserves praise.But what made his acting fall short was the writing of the film.
There were several instances where Pankaj's performance felt like he was asked to overact, showing emotions that were not the demand of the scene. But perhaps, Pankaj has done justice to the role to the extent he could.
Apart from Pankaj, the other performance that was striking was of Piyush Mishraas Atal's father Krishna Bihari Vajpayee.
All the other characters in the movie were far from realistic and looked cringeworthy.
Final verdict
What works is the subject of the movie, i.e., Atal Bihari Vajpayee.The leader's words, historic achievements, and initiatives have been praised by millions of Indians to date.And what makes this film a drab watch is the overdramatisation of everything.Watch this film only for the profound lines of the revered leader.
