Gandhi, My Father

Went to the movie, at PVR, Juhu, which is based on the play, Mahatma Vs Gandhi , by Feroz Abbas Khan. I had heard of the play which created a lot of waves in 2003, when it was staged. Kudos to Anil Kapoor for believing in the play and making it into a movie.

The movie has a one line story. The Father of a Nation was not a very good father to his eldest son.

The best thing about the movie that I loved were the locales in South Africa and the way the actors of the movie have been put into the sepia tones of the original freedom struggle videos. The two persons who leave a mark are Akshaey Khanna (playing Harilal Gandhi) and Shafeli Shah (playing Kasturba Gandhi).

For Akshaey Khanna, see the scene where he gets hurt while playing football (in South Africa) and Gandhi says to him while applying a medicament, that he has recommended someone for the scholarship to study in England. Akshey has spoken a million words when he says, " Main Theek Hun" and walks away, limping.

For Shafeli Shah, there are far too many scenes that make u remember her large eyes.

The movie moves very slowly, as with most movies dealing with Gandhiji. Mahatma says that there are two people who never understood him, Jinnah and Harilal. Probably, Harilal would have said there was only one and it was the Mahatma.

The camera work needs special mention for the way silhouette has been used all along the movie and a golden hue running throughout the movie trying to bring back the days of the raj to life.

For people believing in realistic cinema and history buffs, it’s a must watch. Others can wait till October 2, 2007, when it should be out on Zee or Sony.