Pankaj Tripathi on Maldives Lakshadweep row: Actor Pankaj Tripathi is gearing up for his next big release, Main Atal Hoon. The biopic is based on the life of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Tripathi will be seen playing the late PM.

Recently, the trailer of the movie was dropped, suggesting that its story revolves around Vajpayee's political career from his early college days, even covering several chapters of recent Indian history of which the great statesman has been a part.

While promoting the film, Pankaj recently spoke exclusively to Filmibeat about his role and experience working in Main Atal Hoon. Not only that, the Mirzapur star had an interesting reaction to the ongoing Maldives and Lakshadweep controversy.

Pankaj Tripathi on the Maldives and Lakshadweep controversy

For context, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a few photos from his recent visit to the Lakshadweep Islands. He was there for the launch of a project. However, three Maldivian ministers made disparaging remarks against India and Mr. Modi, which led to an uproar on social media and diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

Soon triggered Indians and many influential personalities from India, including Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham, and Virender Sehwag, among others, began a trend of promoting the Indian Islands as their next vacation destination.

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When asked about the ongoing controversy between the Maldives Lakshadweep Islands and his thoughts on Bollywood celebs urging to shoot in Lakshadweep, Tripathi quickly stated that other than a few songs and celebrities going on vacation, no Bollywood film has ever been shot entirely in the Maldives. "Maldives mein toh sab reels banane jate the, waha toh sirf pani hai yese koi shoot location hai bhi nahi," he said.

He then added, "Humare desh se sundar hai kya koi sansar mein. Flights badhaiye Lakshadweep ki, tickets ke dam kam kareiye toh hum sab chalenge wahan."

Watch the video below:-

Talking about the Maldives, three deputy ministers from Maldives cabinet-Malsha Shareef, Maryam Shiuna, and Mahzoom Majid-made nasty comments on Modi's pics and called out his visit to Lakshadweep as a target to their nation's tourism. While the Maldivian foreign ministry distanced itself from their remarks, calling them personal views, they were later suspended.

Maldives is a popular holiday hotspot for many Indians. Seeing the island nation insulting the PM and India, many cancelled their trip to the country and began trending boycott Maldives. Soon, Tata Group announced the establishment of resorts in Lakshadweep.

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About Main Atal Hoon

Speaking of Main Atal Hoon, the biographical drama is slated to release on January 19. Besides Tripathi, it also stars Piyush Mishra, Raja Rameshkumar, Daya Shankar Pandey, and others. It is directed by Ravi Jadhav.