In his first release of the year, Pankaj Tripathi plays former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The film titled Main Atal Hoon captures the life and times of the statesman and poet. Interestingly, this is the first time that Tripathi is playing a character based on a real person. Needless to say, he was quite nervous before taking on the role.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, he says, “I was a little reluctant when this film came my way. I wasn’t sure. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it. The makers told me, ‘You’re the only option. If you don’t do it, the film won’t get made.’ I was so overwhelmed when they told me so.”
A part of his confidence eventually also stemmed from his friends who motivated him to be a part of the film. Talking about it, he says, “I have two to three friends in the media from Delhi. I spoke to them about this film. When they came to meet me in my room during the shoot of Fukrey 3, they saw me reading a book on Atal ji. I told them that I was scared but they assured me that I’ll be able to pull it off. I’ve to say that people around me gave me a lot of confidence and reassurance.”
Tripathi further tells us that this is the first time he’s feeling jittery before a film release in a career spanning two decades. “I’m usually not scared of how the audience will receive a film before its release but this time around, I’m a bit both nervous and excited. In every other film, I’ve played fictional characters based on imagination. Here, I’m playing a real person. But we’re sure that people will leave their pre-conceived notions and become one with Atal ji’s journey,” he says.
While actors in biopics often run the risk of being labelled as a caricature of the person they’re essaying, Tripathi is happy that he managed to ‘steer clear’ from the same and created his version of Vajpayee. He remarks, “I’m not the kind of actor who can imitate or do mimicry. I spoke to Ravi (Jadhav; director) ji and concluded that we won’t resort to any imitation or mimicry but capture the essence of the personality not known to the public or the media. We wanted to shed light on his thoughts and mindset.”
The Mirzapur and Sacred Games actor adds, “Having said that, we had to retain a little bit of imitation because we were making a film and the audience would want a slight resemblance between Atal ji and the actor playing him. Main Atal Hoon is a dramatic version of his life. But no matter how much prosthetic we use, I can’t look like his replica.”
Main Atal Hoon is slated to hit the big screens on January 19, 2024.
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