Gandhi My Father Hindi Movie

Aug 3, 2007 By Jahan Bakshi

'Gandhi My Father' is definitely one of the most awaited and intriguing releases this year, with a totally unexplored theme and lots of pre-release buzz to boot. Does it match up to the hype? My answer would be a qualified yes.

A film with subject matter as compelling as 'Gandhi My Father' could well have been a masterpiece- which 'Gandhi My Father' is certainly not, and that is somewhat disappointing - but Feroze Abbas Khan and Anil Kapoor definitely deserve kudos for a bravura effort in bringing this beautiful father-son saga to the screen. 'Gandhi My Father' is a heart-wrenching tragedy about the Gandhi family- it is a story that needed to be told and deserves to be seen and heard.

'Gandhi My Father' is a sincere attempt and succeeds magnificently on many counts. The epic story of India's freedom struggle is seamlessly and wonderfully woven into the very intimate, personal tale of the Gandhi family and its internal conflict. David Macdonald's cinematography is breathtakingly gorgeous and the background score by Piyush Kanojia is both understated and soulful.

What holds everything together is some bold, confident direction by Feroze Abbas Khan who makes an amazing transition from theatre to film, and it is certainly a job very well done paying attention to small details and painting a huge canvas on screen. The theatre roots do begin to surface at times and the film becomes a little clunky at times, but then these moments are far and few in between. Bravo, Mr. Khan.

The first half of the films feels a tad under whelming at times in the first half, but more than makes up in the second, which also carries much of the emotional heft. The grainy Black and White footage (done with SFX) is overused though, and is sometimes a little tacky.

The film, of course- is finally about the performances, and they are inspiringly good. Bhumika Chawla, seen on screen after some time pitches in a good act in a small, but fairly effective role as Gulab Gandhi, Harilal's wife.

Shefali Shah, as Kasturba, or 'Ba' as Harilal fondly calls her in the film, is an absolute revelation. Saying so much with silent expressions, she touches the heart and makes you wish that we could see more of the enormously talented actress on screen. She gives the character her own unique touch and makes it her own, and that is definitely saying something, considering Rohini Hattangadi is a tough act to follow.

Darshan Zariwala is astounding as the Mahatma himself, taking Bapu's character to a whole new level by humanizing him. He shows us a Gandhi stripped to the core, yet not stripped of his greatness. One can truly sense Gandhi's pain, his dreams, his ideals and his helplessness at never being able to bridge the increasing gap between him and his son through Zariwala's wonderful performance, and it is difficult to believe that it is the same actor who was seen playing a cartoonish villain in the pulp fiction masterpiece 'Aap Ka Suroor', not so long back.

And then there's Akshaye Khanna. A truly talented actor Akshaye has been seen in some truly horrendous roles and films of late, and it is a huge sigh of relief to see him in something worth his while, finally. And while he does a great job, bringing life to Harilal, his frustrations, his yearnings, his anger and his human side, I couldn't help but find something amiss here.

Without a doubt, this is excellent work from Akshaye, but somewhere, somehow both he and the director fail to make the viewer fully connect with Harilal- the character about who this film is supposed to be primarily. Somewhere, in between, I lost touch with Harilal and the Mahatma became the main protagonist.

Perhaps, the film could have been called Harilal, My son. Or maybe, perhaps, it is indeed ironical that Harilal was destined to get a little overwhelmed by his father's towering shadow, in both- real and reel life.