The BGM is how Main Atal Hoon tries to get under your skin. It mostly rouses to invoke sentiments of nationalism and desh seva. Sometimes it tries to be comic, like in scenes featuring Vajpayee’s father (played by Piyush Mishra). At all times it is deafening, trying to drill its message into the audience’s ears. It is not demanding but commanding emotions from the viewer. It almost felt like an assault on the rational voice inside your head.The nuances of life die down under all this loudness. Contrary to what the title suggests, Main Atal Hoon is the biopic of a party, not of a person. We never get deep into the mind of a man who was quite Gandhian in a right-wing outfit. Vajpayee is shown as a committed RSS man but there is no mention of how sometimes his viewpoints were contrarian to that of the Sangh. We are informed about his love for sweets but not for meat and alcohol. The film feels like a careful pruning of a life story, being done to fit it into an agenda. Only two images linger in your mind long after watching the film, one of the ‘Om’ symbol and the other of the lotus.Pankaj Tripathi is sincere in his portrayal of the late PM. He emulates the gestures and the sing-song voice of Vajpayee but because of the bland screenplay, he is unable to imbibe the soul of the role. Tripathi sways too much in poetic bliss after every dialogue, as if he is remembering a Ghazal. It is more caricature than character.What Main Atal Hoon lacks the most is riveting drama. After a point, it becomes a showreel of the greatest hits from Vajpayee’s life. There are no conflicts, except in the form of Indira Gandhi discussing cold maneuverings over hot cups of chai.Film: Main Atal HoonDirector: Rai JadhavCast: Pankaj Tripathi, Piyush Mishra, Raja Rameshkumar Sevak, Daya Shankar PandeyRating :1.5/5
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