Actor Pankaj Tripathi will play the role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the former Indian Prime Minister’s biopic titled Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon Yeh Desh Rehna Chahiye- ATAL.

The film, helmed by three-time National Award-winner Ravi Jadhav, is being written by Utkarsh Naithani.

“It's my honour to portray such a humane politician on screen. He was not just a politician but so much more. He was an excellent writer and a renowned poet. Getting to be in his shoes is nothing but a privilege for an actor like me,” said Tripathi, who recently received critical acclaim for his acting in Disney+ Hotstar show Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach.

The film revolves around the journey of Vajpayee, who served as the Prime Minister of India thrice from 1996 to 2004. His first term as the PM lasted for 13 days in 1996, followed by a 13-month-long term from 1998 to 1999. He served his complete term of five years as the PM from 1999 to 2004.

Filmmaker Ravi Jadhav said, “For me as a director, I couldn’t have asked for any better story than that of Atal ji. On top of this, I have an exemplary actor like Pankaj Tripathi to bring to life Atal ji’s story and the support of the producers. I hope that I can live up to people’s expectations with ATAL.”

Producer Vinod Bhanushali said, “Unanimously, we all had imagined Pankaj Tripathi playing Atal ji since we began discussing the film. We are delighted to have one of India’s finest actors playing the part. We also have an exceptional director on board who we are sure will bring the story of our exemplary leader beautifully.”

The makers aim to release the film in Christmas 2023, which also marks the 99th birth anniversary of Vajpayee, according to Sandeep Singh, one of the producers of the film.

ATAL is produced by Vinod Bhanushali, Sandeep Singh, Sam Khan and Kamlesh Bhanushali in association with 70MM Talkies and co-produced by Zeeshan Ahmad and Shivv Sharma.