Difficult to play a public figure on screen, says Pankaj Tripathi on portraying Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) Actor Pankaj Tripathi says it was a challenge for him to portray former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in an upcoming biographical drama movie as he had to accurately capture not only the nuances but also his spirit with the performance.

The biopic, titled “Main Atal Hoon”, is written by Utkarsh Naithani and directed by three-time National Award-winner Ravi Jadhav.

Tripathi, who currently features in “OMG 2”, said he wanted to capture the core personality of the character and deliver a performance that would stay with people.

“Doing a biopic is difficult as people have seen this public figure. When people watch the film, they see whether the actor is doing mimicry or not? Or how has the actor captured the nuances, like mannerisms?

“I believe it is important to get these outer things correct but what is more important is to understand the person’s thoughts and his core personality, and get that correct. As an actor you must tap into it, because that’s what stays with people,” the 46-year-old actor told PTI.

Produced by Vinod Bhanushali, Sandeep Singh, Sam Khan and Kamlesh Bhanushali, “Main Atal Hoon” will hit theatres in December.

Tripathi has a slew of upcoming projects, with majority of them being sequels — “Fukrey 3” and “Stree 2”, as well as series “Mirzapur 3” and “Criminal Justice 4”.

“Doing sequels is easy because you know the world and character. However, at the same time it is boring, because you think, How long will this carry forward, like third or fourth part’. But since it’s a success, maybe it is getting made,” he said.

His latest film, “OMG 2”, in which the actor played the role of a devotee of Lord Shiva named Kanti Sharan Mudgal, has garnered positive response from the audience. The movie also features Akshay Kumar and Yami Gautam.