Main Atal Hoon

Pankaj Tripathi's sincerity and simplicity win everything and everyone in both real life and on-screen. So, when he is considered to play another human being boasting the same qualities, he becomes the best choice for the role. But, a film needs more. 'Main Atal Hoon' is the best example of a film which solely and quite shamelessly depends only on the acting prowess of one man - Tripathi, who plays the role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister of India. He does his passionate best - from the exaggerated limb movements to weaving poetry and speaking with eyes half closed, Tripathi becomes Vajpayee in many scenes but gets beaten by a broken, dull and schematic narrative.

The film begins with a disclaimer that says its only aim is to ignite the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among the viewers. "This film intends to inspire patriotism, nationalism and reverence of our great nation not only amongst the youth but people at large," it reads and you realise what you are in for. The story begins in the pre-independence times when India is on the verge of getting freedom with a section of people hoping to see the rise of 'Ek Akhand Hindu Rashtra'. Atal, a poet and a writer, also dreams the same. Very early in his life, he decides to abandon the need for a partner, to dedicate himself unabashedly to the service of the nation - the idea of one India. The film tries to touch upon the high moments from his life - when he replaces the Union Jack with the tricolour, decides to leave his family forever, falls in love but grows out of it in a snap, and decides to be the leader of the Hindu Parishad. This arch of growth is essentially so beautiful, but in the film, it is reduced to mere moments. The narrative keeps jumping from one moment to another and when there's time to expand and breathe the grandeur in, it turns into a Congress-bashing narrative. Allegations of corruption, family politics, and looting the nation follow. The entire party is painted as the party of criminals - The emergency of 1975 is shown but not the riots of '84. The Babri Masjid demolition is shown but not the Godhra train incident, and Vajpayee's controversial speech of December 6, 1992, is shown, but not in its entirety. The film does the biggest disservice to Tripathi who puts his everything into the story but doesn't even get honest filmmaking in return.

The young college days where Vajpayee falls in love for the first time are beautifully shot but this fleeting romance fades away as soon as it comes. A few scenes later, we are treated to an awkward scenario where he meets his old flame and decides to make a family with her current family including her daughter and husband. You are never taken into the depth of why he's thinking what he's thinking. Why a man who abandoned the idea of a family long back, would decide to have a family in his 50s? You can ask but you will not be answered. 'Main avivahit hun par kunwara nahi', he says and you are never shown any more layers of his personal life. Vajpayee remains a mystery. You can try and know him from his poetry, his writings, his speeches and his decisions but you can never ask 'why'. 'Main Atal Hoon' could have been a good biographical drama, with a well-researched story about what goes into the mind of a man who turns out to be a brilliant leader, a 'Bharat Ratna'. But, it almost seems like the makers got Pankaj Tripathi on board and then stopped thinking about anything else. The rest of the casting further makes you believe in the potential ruined. 'Advani ji' doesn't find a mature depiction and 'Sushma ji' is reduced to a shrill voice. Sonia Gandhi is simply a blink-and-miss vision sitting inside the parliament where Tripathi's 'ek desh hona chahye' speech takes centre stage but fails to generate a goosebump-worthy impact.

Main Atal Hoon depends heavily on the narration and at its best, it looks like a casual reading of a book designed for the school kids. A missed opportunity, it doesn't look like anything more than an unfinished poem. And not the beautiful kind that Vajpayee would create but, probably just an immature juxtaposition of words and sentences from an aspiring poet.