Synopsis
The film Main Atal Hoon (I am Atal) is based on the Marathi book ‘Atalji: Kavihridayache Rashtranetyachi Charitkahani’ by Sarang Darshane. The movie traces the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s journey from a freedom fighter to one of India’s most loved leaders. It gives a glimpse into the various influences and events that shaped his life, including some of the most significant milestones during his tenure as prime minister.
Review
Main Atal Hoon (I am Atal) is a film spanning over six decades of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s life according to a Marathi book called ‘Atalji: Kavihridayachye Rashtranetyachi Charitkahani’ which translates as ‘Atalji: A Biography of Hindutva Poet’. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by himself, this biopic seems more like an accountancy record than anything else. There are bullet points for each achievement made by him in his political career but not much insight into what kind of person he was.
We don’t come to know what made him deviate towards right wing politics and embrace staunch Hindutva. Poets are by and large left wing by nature. He was a fairly good poet leaving a prolific work behind him. What made a poet, an intellectual, a thinker take part in religion-based politics doesn’t come across. It’s a dichotomy that needed to be explored but the director has steered clear of it.
More than Vajpayee’s biopic, the film feels like the biography of the Bharatiya Janata Party. While it’s true that you can’t separate a politician from his party, this one dwells more on how BJP came into existence after Jan Sangh was disbanded by Indira Gandhi during emergency rule in 1977. The man himself doesn’t get much screen time. And for some reason, the people around him, be it LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi or other BJP stalwarts are reduced to being cardboard cutouts. There’s no interaction scenes where he’s seen sharing his world view with them and vice versa. He had an adopted family, and while the film fleetingly introduces them to us, there are no scenes depicting Vajpayee, the family man.
The film is more concerned about blackballing the Congress party than anything else. It’s painted as a nest of evil politicians hell bent on running the county to ground, while the BJP is shown to be the better alternative. The film ironically points out that Vajpayee thought ill of political horse-trading and wanted no part in it. It says that Congress regularly bought over politicians to gain a majority something Vajpayee points out was anathema to true democracy and his own party should steer clear of it. Strangely, the film hints that Indira Gandhi’s assassination by Sikh terrorists was something she brought down on herself though given modi govt anti nehru stance shows vajpayee praising first pm for successfully running country
It should be noted that Vajpayee was reportedly hurt and saddened by the riots which erupted after the Babri Masjid demolition. He took political exile for some time after that happened but what he did during this period or why he came back into politics again is not shown in movie
He was not only a politician, but also a poet and a statesman who gained popularity regardless of party affiliation. Although he did not agree with their philosophy, he was friends with most of his political colleagues. He advocated for inclusive politics where people live together in peace rather than living separately. It is wrong to view him as just the leader of one political party because this misrepresents what this great person stands for. His contributions go beyond that and we would have liked if there were more movies about his multi-dimensional life.
The main actor Pankaj Tripathi tries his best in the film even though he does not resemble Vajpayee at all. The way he changes his voice, behaves or moves around and speaks publicly are correct. If you close your eyes, it feels like you are next to that amazing person. Once again well done to Tripathi for such an excellent performance.
For More Movies Visit Putlocker.