Pankaj Tripathi: Vajpayee’s Thoughts Mattered More Than Mimicry

MUMBAI  – Pankaj Tripathi, who will next be seen in ‘Mirzapur: The Movie,’ said that he initially struggled while portraying former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the biographical film ‘Main Atal Hoon’ before shifting his focus from mimicry to capturing the late leader’s personality and thoughts.

Speaking on actor Shekhar Suman’s chat show ‘Shekhar Tonite,’ Tripathi said portraying Vajpayee was especially challenging because he was never good at mimicry.

“I read a lot of books on Atal Ji. I saw his old speeches. And it was very challenging for me because I am very bad at mimicry. So I was in a dilemma about how much I will be able to mimic Atal Ji. The scene which he had put in the trailer, that was the first day. I was struggling with how much I will be able to hold the mannerism, or not. And that shot came in the trailer,” he said.

Tripathi said he eventually realized the role was not about perfectly imitating Vajpayee’s appearance or mannerisms but about conveying his journey, wisdom and personality.

“I was holding my head. I said, ‘Why did they put this in the trailer?’ Then I felt that the person is more than what his outer appearance is. The person is more what his thoughts are. In Indian cinema, there is a pressure that if a popular person’s biopic is being made, then the audience wants them to do the same.

“And they judge that he is not looking like Atal Ji. Atal Ji’s story is not made for how Atal Ji looks. Atal Ji’s story is important because of his journey, his wisdom, his thoughts, his personality. And in the story, what we have seen in the dialogues, that is fine. But what Atal Ji thinks in his room, we have not seen that. We do not know that. So it was a big challenge,” he added. (IANS)