Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Lok Sabha MP and actor Amol Kolhe has been warned against the film by his party colleague and Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad after playing the role of Nathuram Godse in the film “Why I Killed Gandhi”.
Mr Kolhe, known for playing the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a Marathi television serial, plays Godse in a film slated to release on January 30 on an OTT platform. The trailer of the film was released recently.
“It is clear that Amol Kolhe has played the role of Nathuram Godse in the film. Even though he is an actor, the film is nothing but the glory of Godse. One cannot support the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in the guise of being an actor,” Mr. Awhad said.
The minister was at the forefront of state-wide protests against Marathi plays glorifying Godse a decade ago. The character of Godse was played by senior actors Late Vinay Apte, Sharad Ponkhe, who was then severely criticized. “The progressive citizens of Maharashtra protested then, and even today I stand with the same position. I will oppose this anti-Gandhi film,” Mr. Awhad said.
Mr Kolhe, however, claimed that the film was shot in 2017 when he was neither a member of the NCP nor an elected representative. “I feel it is unfair to link my current political affiliations with my acting choices in 2017. I am an actor and have played the role as required on screen. In reel life, an actor gets to play a character that you don’t agree with but it challenges you. But in real life neither I love Godse nor do I hate Mahatma Gandhi.
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