Main Atal Hoon Review: Pankaj Tripathi tries hard to lift this snail-paced biopic which lacks depth!

Film:
Main Atal Hoon

Film: Main Atal Hoon

Director: Ravi Jadhav

Star cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ekta Kaul, Raja Sevak and Daya Shankar Pandey

Runtime: 2 hrs 25 minutes

Platform: Theatres

Pankaj Tripathi is an actor par excellence who effortlessly gets into the skin of every character that he portrays. When the teaser and trailer of his recently released Main Atal Hoon were dropped by the makers, what captivated us was his portrayal and strength to carry the movie on his shoulders. With Ravi Jadhav helming the biopic, the expectations were much higher as he blew our minds with Sushmita Sen starrer Taali. Well, does the director and Pankaj weave the same kind of magic with Main Atal Hoon? Read our review to know more.

Main Atal Hoon review

Main Atal Hoon traces the life journey of India’s most revolutionary Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Right from being the brightest candidate of RSS to becoming India’s 10th PM, every facet of his life is covered. Pankaj’s film touches upon the Emergency, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Pokhran nuclear test, the Hindi speech at the UN, and several other important events. But does it captivate the audience? Every biopic has a linear storyline with similar high points, being an underdog in the first half and triumphing over all the odds in the second half. Main Atal Hoon is no different.

Highlights of the movie

Talking about the highlights of the movie, major credit goes to Pankaj as he sincerely tries to adopt the mannerisms, looks, and style of the former Prime Minister. Be it the way of walking, delivering speech, getting disappointed owing to unrest in the country or celebrating happy moments of achievements, Pankaj’s efforts to display every emotion does not match up to his phenomenal body of work in the past.

Another thing that the film rides on is Atal’s poetic charm and his powerful speeches in the assembly. This is the section where Pankaj shines the brightest, but that’s that. Additionally, what leaves us disappointed is the lack of depth required in such a story. The inconsistency in screenplay and slow-paced narrative leaves us squirming in our seats. The major focus of the movie is on his life before becoming a Prime Minister rather than highlighting the changes he brought after becoming one. Be it the late politician speaking against the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency period, the poignant moment between Atal Ji and APJ Abdul Kalam Azad following the historic Pokhran Nuclear test, Babri Masjid demolition, Lahore Bus Yatra, and the Kargil; all his achievements are covered.

Drawbacks of the movie

But the makers have only touched upon the achievements and did not present the backstory of it. None of the moments make our chest swell with pride or arouse patriotic sentiments. The first half of the film compels us to yawn with less impressive dialogues and major focus on his love story. But the second half depicts the true valour of the Bharatiya Janta Party. The cinematography goes well with the concept, however the editing needed to be more crisp.

The documentary treatment to the film does nothing to add any significant value. Backed by co-actors like Piyush Mishra, Raja Rameshkumar Sevak, Daya Shankar Pandey, Pramod Pathak, Paayal Kapoor Nair, Harshad Kumar, Prasanna Ketkar, Haresh Khatri, Paula McGlynn, and Gauri Sukhtankar, the seasoned performers have added apt weight to the narrative, despite limited screentime.

Conclusion

Overall, Main Atal Hoon is an unexciting movie that solely relies on Pankaj’s performance to an extent. The verbose writing, snail-paced narrative, inconsistent screenplay, and banal music do not contribute to the narrative. Now, it’s a given that Indian cinema doesn’t get its political biopics right like the West, and Main Atal Hoon is no different. Ahead of the General election of 2024, this seems like a whitewashed attempt for a politician whose life deserved a better representation.

Watch Main Atal Hoon trailer after reading the review:

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