Gandhi Jayanti 2021: Let’s remember Gandhigiri through these Bollywood films
One of the greatest historical figures, Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. He was named ‘Mahatma’ by the great poet Rabindranath Tagore. Known for his philosophy of non-violence or non-violence, Bapu’s birth anniversary is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence declared by the United Nations General Assembly. As India celebrates the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday, let’s revisit the epic personality of Bapu through these entertaining films based on his life and his ideology.
Hey Ram (2000)
This semi-fiction film focuses on the partition of India and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. Where Gandhi is portrayed by veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, Kamal Haasan plays the role of Saket Ram, a Hindu fanatic. The film revolves around a fictional character named Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan), who is torn apart by the violence of Partition and blames Gandhiji for it. He conspires to kill the Mahatma but later circumstances force him to change his mind.
Later he leads his life according to Gandhian principles. Hey Ram is a historical drama film written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan. stars in the movie Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee.
I Didn’t Kill Gandhi (2005)
Although the film is not based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the film can be interpreted to indirectly represent the importance of Gandhi in people’s lives. The film revolves around a retired Hindi professor, Uttam Choudhary, played by Anupam Kheri, who suffers from dementia, which eventually leads him to think that he is accused of killing Gandhi.
Uttam believes that he accidentally killed Gandhi by playing with a toy gun that contained real bullets and shoots Gandhi. Urmila Matondkari His daughter plays the role of Trisha, who goes through an overwhelming journey of taking care of her father’s health.
The story eventually uncovers the reason behind his trauma which stems from a childhood incident. The film was directed by Jahnu Barua and produced by Anupam Kher.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
The film takes an interesting turn in presenting Gandhian philosophy in the present context. The film attempted to portray that Gandhi’s principles based on kindness, love and non-violence, which played a key role in the protests against the British Raj, are still applicable to achieve love and harmony in current personal and social issues.
More interestingly, Sanjay Dutt’s character, Munna, is a kind-hearted goon who learns of these principles in order to woo Vidya Balan’s character, Jhanvi, but eventually undergoes a lot of ideological changes as he becomes a Gandhian. Keeps moving closer and deeper. The ideology of non-violence.
Based on Munna’s advice on Jhanvi’s radio show, some of the funniest Gandhigiri scenes in the film involve people who follow Gandhiji’s ideology in their lives. The film was directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Other prominent members of the cast include Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Dia Mirza and Jimmy Shergill. Dilip Prabhavalkar played the role of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi Mere Father (2007)
The film traces the life of Mahatma Gandhi as a father, an aspect of the life of the Father of the Nation that is rarely discussed. The film is based on the biography of Gandhiji’s son Harilal Gandhi, ‘Harilal Gandhi: A Life’ by Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal. The film is based on the vision and life of Gandhi’s eldest son Harilal, played by Akshaye Khanna, who felt under the care of his illustrious father.
The father-son relationship was strained because of differences in views and life choices. Harilal’s ambition was to study abroad and become a barrister like his father, while Gandhi hoped that his son would join him and fight for his ideals and cause in India. Facing despair for most of his life, Harilal turned to alcohol and converted to Islam, and then later back to a different sect of Hinduism. As political tensions continued to heat up, the rift between Gandhi and his eldest son grew beyond repair.
Gandhi is assassinated before the two can reconcile, and Harilal attends his father’s overcrowded funeral as a stranger whom the people around him do not recognize. Darshan Jariwala was brilliant as Gandhiji and Shefali Shah as Kasturba Gandhi. The film was directed by Firoz Abbas Khan and produced by Anil Kapoor.
Partition 1947 (2017)
While the film on Partition focuses on the last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and the Indian servants in the Viceroy’s house, the film also portrays Gandhi, who does not accept Partition. In a scene in which the people of the country can be seen celebrating independence, Mahatma Gandhi is shown sleeping as he believed that there was nothing to celebrate because of the terrible Partition.
‘Partition 1947’ focuses on the plight of the people during Partition and the rift in Hindu-Muslim love and friendship. The film has a powerful star cast including Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi and Om Puri. Neeraj Kabi played the role of Mahatma Gandhi.
The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha and produced by Paul Maida Burgess, Gurinder Chadha and Deepak Nair. So, with these incredible movies, let’s honor the memory of Mahatma Gandhi in Bollywood style.
– with ani input
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