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Main Atal Hoon Review: Pankaj Tripathi starrer is an uninspiring cinematic execution of an inspiring journey
Planning to watch Main Atal Hoon this weekend? Read Pinkvilla’s review of this Pankaj Tripathi starrer.
Name: Main Atal Hoon
Director: Ravi Jadhav
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi,Piyush Mishra
Rating: 1.5
Plot
Ravi Jadhav’s Main Atal Hoon narrates the inspiring story of India’s Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, played by Pankaj Tripathi. From his younger days in Gwalior to becoming the country’s Prime Minister, the movie chronicles many ups and downs from his life in this two hour and nineteen minutes narrative.
What works?
It is Pankaj Tripathi’s stand out performance that salvages the rather monotonous screenplay of Main Atal Hoon. His chemistry in some of the initial scenes with Piyush Mishra truly stand out, and some of his speech sequences including the one set in the Ramlila Maidan are the high points of the film. These sequences are ably supported by an impactful background score composed by Monty Sharma.
Furthermore, the film opens on an interesting note, but then soon gets lost amidst a series of anecdotes, which not only impacts the screenplay from a story point of view, but also the pace of the narrative. The film does slightly pick up in the second half but still with an uneven graph of storytelling.
Production designer Sandeep Ravade’s work is in sync with the story, while Sachin Lovalekar’s costume styling is on point, and so is Kavish Sinha’s casting.
What doesn’t work?
It is the cluttered screenplay written by Rishi Virmani and Ravi Jadhav, and poorly executed by the latter which is a major letdown of Main Atal Hoon. The makers have tried to add a lot of anecdotes from Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s life with obviously the right intent to highlight as many of his significant contributions and sacrifices, but in doing so they have ripped apart the soul of the narrative, thus barring the audience from emotionally connecting to the story. Besides the weak writing, editor Bunty Nagi also fails to save the movie on the editing table.
Lawrence DCunha’s cinematography is underwhelming, and so is Salim - Sulaiman, Payal Dev, Kailash Kher and Amitraj’s music. Lighting in some of the close up scenes is also not up to the mark.
The climax as well is rushed, and once again just ends up being anecdotal minus any impact, almost like we usually see in a documentary.
Performances
Pankaj Tripathi is extraordinary as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and it is true that probably no one could have played the part better than him. Piyush Mishra in his limited screen time will steal your hearts (like he always does with his performances). Raja Rameshkumar Sevak as LK Advani and Payal Nair as Indira Gandhi have lived up to their parts, and so have the rest of the supporting cast.
Final Verdict
Pankaj Tripathi’s Ravi Jadhav directed Main Atal Hoon fails to do justice to a truly inspiring journey.
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