“Jai Jawan! Jai Kisan! Jai Vigyan!”
It has been raining biopics in the Bollywood industry recently. This time, it is none other than India’s renowned and celebrated statesman cum poet, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s biopic titled Main Atal Hoon.
Minor Spoilers Ahead!
Main Atal Hoon is a biographical film that tells us the tale of India’s beloved political leader and former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The film narrates the life and political career of Vajpayee in an almost sequential order, and ardently depicts why Vajpayee’s philosophies and legacy continue to inspire and guide the youth even today.
About The Film Main Atal Hoon
Directed and co-written by Ravi Jadhav, Main Atal Hoon features Pankaj Tripathi in the titular role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s 10th Prime Minister, who served three terms. With a run-time of 139 minutes, the film was theatrically released in India on 19th January 2024. The film also stars Piyush Mishra (as Vajpayee’s father) and Ekta Kaul (as Vajpayee’s college pal).
The biographical film is inspired by and based on Sarang Darshane’s book, Atalji: Kavihridayache Rashtranetyachi Charitkahani, a Marathi book on Vajpayee’s life. In its disclaimer, the film states that it aims at instilling feelings of patriotism, nationalism, and reverence for the nation in the hearts of the youth.
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a man whose life was not only inspiring but also significantly interesting! Born in 1924, Vajpayee served three separate terms as the 10th Prime Minister of India. He first served for a period of 13 days in 1996, and then for a period of over a year from 1998 to 1999, and finally for a full term from 1999 to 2004. He was the first non-Congress Indian Prime Minister to serve a full term in the Indian Parliament.
He was one of the co-founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was also a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his early days. Besides being an inspiring politician and statesman, he was a renowned Hindi writer, poet and shayar.
Though Vajpayee idealised the concepts of “Bharat” and “Hindutva”, he refrained from tarnishing politics with religion. He believed that “Hindutva” is a way of living life. He was not only a politician but also a statesman. Above all, he was a gentleman. Vajpayee respected the political leaders of the opposition parties too. He believed that constructing hospitals is more important that making hotels.
He believed in “Raj Dharma” which implies that the Prime Minister is responsible for the janta’s welfare, and is answerable to the people. Vajpayee started bus services between Amritsar and Lahore, to increase friendly relations with the neighbouring country of Pakistan. He even strengthened India’s relations with China.
Honoured with the prestigious Bharat Ratna in 2015, Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last on 16th August 2018. He was celebrated for his excellent oratory and organisational skills, and is still celebrated for how his political career’s historical significance holds contemporary relevance.
The Plot, Storytelling, Screenplay, And Narrative Of Main Atal Hoon
This overdramatised biopic does not delve deep into any of the significant events that took place during Vajpayee’s political career, but gives the audience a brief synopsis of Vajpayee’s ideologies, endeavours, and accomplishments.
Main Atal Hoon spans more than six decades of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s political career, right from his early days as a member of the RSS during the British Raj in colonial India, to his rise to prominence as the 10th Indian Prime Minister, amidst the Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests in 1998, and during the Kargil War in 1999.
Main Atal Hoon begins with how Vajpayee, as a child, was afraid of reciting poems in front of a huge crowd. As he grows up and enrols in a college, he gets involved in elections and politics. He delivers public speeches with great skill, and raises his voice against casteism and the dowry system. He also fights for everyone’s right to education and for women’s equality.
Main Atal Hoon depicts how Vajpayee dreamt of India as “Bharat”, a democracy that delivers, and a democracy that is for its people. The film idealises the concept of “Bharat” which was Vajpayee’s dream. However, the screenplay of the biopic is slow-paced. The narrative is disorganised and random. The film fails to showcase anything that it portrays with true conviction.
The film features many politicians such as L.K. Advani, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Jawaharlal Nehru, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Sonia Gandhi, and so on. But nothing is shown thoroughly. The other politicians in the film are just there.
Main Atal Hoon also shows several real-life footages of important events such as Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, Indira Gandhi’s proclamation of the nation-wide Emergency in 1975, the Blue Star Operation in 1984 after which Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999, and so on. Though the film shows the Kargil War in some detail, I feel that the Pokhran Nuclear Tests too deserved more screen space and time.
Main Atal Hoon depicts how Vajpayee leads his life by principles; be it by his own principles, or by others’ principles that he finds inspiring. However, the film fails to portray why he is inspired by a certain political leader, or why he wants to make a certain political move of his choice. The film does not show us a backstory that explains his interest in politics or jingoism, marked by a significant inclination towards religious fanaticism.
Main Atal Hoon also takes for granted that Vajpayee exists, and he follows a certain ideology that already exists; and the biopic simply seems to flow with it linearly. Main Atal Hoon is a biopic that meanders way too much; sometimes showing a bit of this, and sometimes showing a bit of that. Consequently, it loses track of its exact essence, depth, and purpose.
The Acting Performance Of Pankaj Tripathi As Vajpayee
Pankaj Tripathi as Atal Bihari Vajpayee shines at certain intervals, but never outshines. In fact, his performance outrageously underwhelms. Pankaj Tripathi has done a commendable job, but goes overboard to imitate Vajpayee’s mannerisms. In certain instances, it almost looks like he is pretending too much to step into his character, and to adapt to his style of speaking.
His acting is too distinct, it is too visible; it almost looks forced and unnatural. Tripathi’s hand, eye, and facial gestures appear too exaggerated, his body language and mannerisms too are larger-than-life, his tone of speaking seems too dramatic in certain scenes. And, needless to mention, Tripathi’s rendition of Vajpayee’s poems or shayaris is worse. The rise and fall of the tonalities of his voice while narrating Vajpayee’s poems are too visible and exaggerated.
An Overview Of My Thoughts About The Film Main Atal Hoon
Though cinema has several aspects on the basis of which its quality can be judged, I believe that any film has two major aspects. Firstly, the plot and story arc. And secondly, the acting performances and character portrayals.
A compelling storyline, coupled with convincing acting performances, creates a great movie! I have based my review of the biopic Main Atal Hoon largely on these two integral aspects of cinema, bearing in mind how Main Atal Hoon falls short in terms of several other aspects of cinema such as direction, dialogue, cinematography, entertainment value, pace, and editing.
All-in-all, Main Atal Hoon could have been a perfect biographical tribute to Vajpayee’s everlasting legacy, but falls short in several aspects. It is an average film about a great man! Marred by a flawed screenplay and a narrative that is haphazard, only Pankaj Tripathi’s dominant performance, which too is flawed, can save this disappointing Bollywood biopic.
Bollywood seems to be obsessed with biopics, and so are we; but the need for pacy and unputdownable biopics still remains. Main Atal Hoon is a clean hit-and-miss for me! Watch it once or don’t watch it at all; you anyhow won’t be missing out on anything that’s sufficiently worthy. Make what you wish to of this ode.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Dream Of Building The Ram Mandir
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s tallest political stalwart, had a Hindu agenda in his party-politics. He dreamt of building the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. On 22nd January 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete Atal Ji’s dream to perfection by inaugurating the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The consecration ceremony is scheduled to take place on 22nd January 2024.
Main Atal Hoon is showing in cinemas near you now!
(Images from: Twitter)