Despite Gandhi’s contempt for cinema, it loved him unconditionally

For Mahatma Gandhi, cinema had a corrupting influence on young minds and was a “sinful technology”. It was this medium that became the message of the Mahatma’s life and philosophy. From biopics like Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” (1982) to his role as an unseen force in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai,” a 2006 film directed by Rajkumar Hirani, his life story and ideas have been subjected to countless treatments.
Since India’s independence and even before, the Father of the Nation has influenced many films, theater shows and now streamers. Some were based on his life, others promoted the values ​​he espoused during his life.
Gandhi, whose 155th birth anniversary was celebrated on Wednesday, saw only one Hindi film in the 1940s – Vijay Bhatt’s “Ram Rajya”. According to the 2020 book “Mahatma Gandhi in Cinema” by Narendra Kaushik, the film was based on the Hindu mythological epic Ramayana.
“Gandhi agreed to watch only selected parts of the film for 40 minutes, but ended up watching the film for an hour and a half. “Filmmaker Vijay Bhatt, another Gujarati of Gandhi, later claimed that the Mahatma looked ‘cheerful’ of the show at the end,” Kaushik wrote in his book.
However, Gandhi did not have a very good attitude towards cinema as he believed that films, both Hindi and foreign, promoted immorality and corruption of young minds, as he further stated in the book.
“When T Rangachariar, the then chairman of the Cinematography Committee, presented him with a questionnaire to find out his views on cinema in 1937, the Father of the Indian Nation described cinema as a ‘sinful technology’. Gandhi considered cinema a waste of resources and time, he said.
Despite Gandhi’s contempt, cinema loved him unconditionally. From ‘Jagriti’ in 1954 to ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ in 2006, the list goes on.
Gandhi was praised by Hindi poet Kavi Pradeep in the song “De di azadi hamein bina khadag, bina dhaal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal” (You gave us freedom without the use of any weapon, Saint Sabarmati, you are great) from “Jagriti”.
Other films of the era recall the complex idealism represented by Gandhi.
Dilip Kumar’s 1957 film ‘Naya Daur’ dealt with the man versus machine debate. Released in the same year, V Shantaram’s film ‘Do Ankhen Barah Haath’ focuses on the rehabilitation of six criminals by a humane prison warden.
There is an entire genre of films based on chapters of Gandhi’s life, with Attenborough’s “Gandhi” being considered the pinnacle of his cinema.
Although it was a British production, the film had a monumental impact on Indian cinema’s approach to the role of Gandhi. For this role, Ben Kingsley received an Oscar trophy for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Many films have focused on specific aspects of Gandhi’s life story.
The Sanjay Dutt starrer ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ popularized the concept of ‘Gandhigiri’ through its story of a simple-minded goon who finds guidance in the teachings of Gandhi. He was played by Dilip Prabhavalkar in the film.
Films such as Shyam Benegal’s 1996 The Making of the Mahatma took a detailed look at Gandhi’s transformation from a young South African lawyer to Mahatma.
The film starring Rajit Kapoor is based on the book “The Practice of the Mahatma” by Fatima Meer.
Another film, Feroz Abbas Khan’s “Gandhi, My Father,” presented a more intimate portrait of Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) as a man and focused on his strained relationship with his son Harilal, played by Akshaye Khanna.
The 2007 film drew a stark contrast between Gandhi’s public image and his private life, revealing the emotional toll that the independence mission took on his family.
There have been many other films in which Gandhi plays a prominent role – including ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’, ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero’, ‘The Viceroy’s House’ and the TV show ‘Samvidhaan’.
Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram (2000) took a critical look at Gandhi, reflecting on the turbulent phase of partition and the communal violence that accompanied it.
The film, in which Naseeruddin Shah played the role of Gandhi, highlighted the disappointment felt by many of his followers.
In his autobiography, And Then One Day, Shah wrote about his efforts to land the role of Kingsley in Attenborough’s film.
“I later deduced that Ben had actually already been cast as Gandhi, and that the whole process of throwing us all to the ground, testing and sneaking the news to the Indian press that I had been elected was a masquerade to pre-empt the opposition that would inevitably occur,” if a white actor had been announced right away,” Shah wrote.
Gandhi will now be seen in two upcoming OTT series – Hansal Mehta’s ‘Gandhi’ starring Pratik Gandhi in the titular role and Nikkhil Advani’s ‘Freedom at Midnight’.
“Gandhi” is based on the books by historian and author Ramachandra Guha – “Gandhi Before India” and “Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World”.
Pratik Gandhi, unrelated to the Mahatma, also essayed the iconic role in ‘Mohan No Masalo’, a 2015 one-man biographical play depicting Gandhi’s early life. It is directed by Manoj Shah and written by Ishan Doshi.
“Freedom at Midnight” was based on the book of the same title by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. It stars Chirag Vohra as Gandhi, alongside Sidhant Gupta as Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Chawla as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
According to the makers, ‘Freedom at Midnight’ is an epic political thriller that depicts “several events from the year of India’s independence and interconnected stories of key events and personalities who played a significant role in writing the history of the country as we know it today.” .
A silent film ‘Gandhi Talks’ starring Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari and Arvind Swami in lead roles is also in the works.