Main Atal Hoon Review: Panjkaj Tripathi shines as Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Ravi Jadhav’s biopic

Rating: 3 stars on 5

Making a biopic is no mean feat and making one on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a tall leader in Indian politics, is an even tougher proposition. National Award-winning director Ravi Jadhav (Natarang, Balgandharva, Balak Palak) has taken on this challenge in ‘Main Atal Hoon’ based on Sarang Darshane’s book, Atalji: Kavihridayache Rashtranetyachi Charitkahani.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not just a politician but also a poet, statesman and excellent orator, whose life began in Gwalior where he became an active RSS Swayamsevak, and then was jailed during the Quit India Movement before he went into politics in a full-fledged manner in his early 20s. Jadhav’s movie traces Vajpayee’s journey from freedom fighter to becoming India’s prime minister and a leader who was loved by the people. The biggest coup for the film was in casting Pankaj Tripathi as the protagonist, as the talented actor is excellent as Vajpayee. Every mannerism, movement and dialogue delivery of Tripathi’s is an ode to India’s three-time Prime Minister.

We have many incidents that are important to India’s history in the film like the Kargil War, Pokhran Nuclear Test, the bus between India and Pakistan, etc. Thus, knowledge of the history of India is required to understand the significance of these events and Vajpayee’s leadership. The presence of other political leaders, like Sushma Swaraj (Gauri Sukhtanker) and Arun Jaitley (Yogendra Patwal), in the film gives it more authenticity.

Having said that, it is the writing by Ravi Jadhav and his co-writer, Rishi Virmani, that lets you down. There are a lot of episodes to be narrated within a few hours and the narration of instances don’t really give insight into Vajpayee, the person, and the inner turmoil, conflicts and challenges he faced every step of the way in his role as prime minister.

If the writers had chosen to delve deeper into these aspects, the movie would have been much more engaging. Some aspects of Vajpayee’s personal life, like the relationship with his adopted daughter, Namita Bhattacharya, could have been explored along with his relationship with friend, Rajkumari Kaul, and father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee.

Watch ‘Main Atal Hoon’ to see Pankaj Tripathi’s excellent performance and for insight into Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s major achievements as a political leader.