There are very few films that move me since I think I have "grown" now to appreciate the fact that often times film makers in general and Indian masala ones tend to be deliberate and conceited in their attempts to move audiences! Rarely do you see such gems as "Gandhi-My Father", which by the very nature of the story and story telling captures the undivided attention of the audience and moves them completely!
This movie is based on a Gujrati novel by Dinkar Joshi and was originally a play(Gandhi vs Mahatma) by the guy who directed the movie, the famous playwright Feroz Abbas Khan. (side note:The role of Gandhi in the original play was done by none other than Munna Bhai fame Bomman Irani). Darshan Jariwala as Gandhi,the immensely under rated but super talented Akshaye Khanna (a.k.a. the Sanjeev Kumar of our times) as Harilal Gandhi,Shefali Shah as Kastur Ba, Bhumika Chawla as Gulab Harilal Gandhi have lived in their roles and have done justice to the script in more ways than one!
The subject is the troubled relationship between Gandhi and his son Harilal. Gandhi due to his active political life neglects basic education of his first son Harilal Gandhi and this one mistake in some sense sets the tone for most things that follow! At every step in Harilal's life he takes a path his father envisages for himself until he finds that his calling and his father's calling are not the same! Gandhi who has decided to dedicate his entire life happily to the service of his people expects his dear son to follow suit, but his son sadly wants a simple successful life as a barrister and a good family man. His lack of scholastic ability and Gandhi's own expectations thwart his attempts to succeed in this. As the movie develops one starts to understand that even though Gandhi has a fair share in his son's failure,which he and Kastur Ba acknowledge in two of the most moving scenes ever to have been shot, Harilal as a person is largely unable to come to terms with the reality of his life. He falls prey to one thing that his father despised,alcoholism,and finally meets his ailing mother drunk! His business attempts fail miserably and his bad company lands him in a ditch and tarnishes Gandhiji's image as well! The first scene opens with Harilal as a drunk tramp in a Mumbai hospital, penniless! When asked for his father's name he says Mahatma Gandhi but people obviously think he is just endearing himself to the father of the nation! This scene is beautiful and in a nut shell describes Harilal's predicament, to quote the tag line, Gandhi was the father Harilal never had!!
There are many remarkable things in the movie. The camera work by David McDonald(multiple golden lion winner at Venice) is so beautiful and spell binding yet completely non intrusive. One of the most moving images are Gandhi and his son sitting on a mountain slope silhouetted against the morning sky,awesome! The sound recording and background score are as supportive and complementary as Mani Iyer and TN Krishnan to a carnatic concert!
One must give it to the director Feroz Khan for such a complete and beautiful movie. More often than not, theatre directors do not make the switch this well. They tend to be verbose(e.g. K.Balachander in his initial days) and dont show proper understanding of the fact that Cinema as a medium is very different. I suspect from what ever little I have read of Feroz Khan that he has done very unconventional theatre which must have stood him in good stead! One example of his brilliance is the scene when Harilal enraged by his wife's cribbing about their lack of income goes out on the street shouting to every body "Mein Gandhi Ka Nalayak Beta hoon"while a Mahabharat drama troupe on the background looks on in astounded silence, acknowledging probably the fact that real life incidents may sometimes be more shocking than fantasy tales. As far as performances go Akshaye Khanna has done once in a life time job of it and I hope he gets the National Award for the best actor. Shefali Shah is an actress I love personaly and I have seen her excel even in smaller roles and finally she has got a role that justifies her stature and talent! Darshan Jariwala is a familiar face in the Parallel Circuit and he plays the role of the repentant,loving and strict father with panache! Another revelation is Bhumika who plays the role of Harilal's wife with such conviction and lack of melodrama. I have seen a movie called Missiama in Telugu where she is the hero of the movie and I was convinced she can act but here I feel sad that the Indian film industry is not using her full potential.
This is a film that in some sense begs for a global audience because of its theme and brilliant performances and direction. I only hope this film will be sent as the official Indian entry to the Oscars(I bet this will win one if sent) instead of some stupid Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie that is going to release soon. With people like Feroz Abbas Khan and Nagesh Kukunoor around Indian cinema is in safe hands! Hip Hip Hurray to the cast and crew of Gandhi, My Father!
