10 Movies Inspired By Life And Times Of Mahatma Gandhi

Bhubaneswar: Filmmakers have always been inspired by the freedom struggle of the great sons of the soil. The dream merchants have depicted the life and times of the freedom fighters on the big screens on umpteen occasions.

Mahatma Gandhi— Father of The Nation— is among the many prominent personalities who has been the favourite pick of the filmmakers. His struggle to attain freedom from the shackles of British rule has been an inspiration for all.

On his 151st birth anniversary, we revisited some of the films made on his life and principles.

Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869–1948 (1968)

A black and white documentary made on the life of Gandhi depicts his relentless search for truth. The story is narrated using mostly Gandhi’s own words.

 

Nine Hours to Rama (1963)

The film showcases the nine hours of Nathuram Godse’s life, before assassinating Mahatma Gandhi. The fictional narrative mostly depicted the troubled life of violence with Muslims and problems he faced with his family. While JS Casshyap played the role of Gandhi, Horst Buchholz portrayed the character of Nathuram Godse.


Gandhi (1982)

The Oscar winning movie is based on the memoris of Gandhi. British actor Ben Kingsley played the role of Mahatma Gandhi, which has left a longlasting imprint in everyone’s mind. The film represents different facets of Gandhi’s life and times during freedom struggle till his assassination. The Richard Attenborough directed movie has been by and large the best movie ever made on Gandhi.

 

 

Sardar (1993)

The central character of the movie was freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Ketan Mehta movie shows the association of Patel with Gandhiji to attain independence. Annu Kapoor essays the role of Mahatma Gandhi and Paresh Rawal is seen donning the role of Sardar Patel.

 

The Making of the Mahatma (1996)

The Shyam Benegal directed film explores the life of Mahatma in South Africa and his experiences which led him to jump into the freedom struggle. Critically acclaimed actor Rajit Kapur has portrayed the character of young Gandhi and the over two decades spent in the African country. The movie is based on book The Apprenticeship of a Mahatma, by Fatima Meer.

 

Gandhi, My Father (2007)

This Bollywood movie is slightly different from the other movies made on Mahatma. The Anil Kapoor produced movie showcases the troubled relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his son. Darshan Jariwala played Gandhi and Akshaye Khanna enacted the role of Harilal Gandhi. Apart from Gandhi’s role in freedom struggle, it depicts some facets of his personal life with his family.

 

Hey Ram (2000)

This Kamal Hasan and Naseeruddin Shah starrer film is based on India’s partition and assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. While Gandhi is portrayed by veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, Kamal Hasan plays the role of Saket Ram, a Hindu fundamentalist. The movie could not attain commercial success but was nominated as India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category in 2000.The south Indian actor is the writer, director and producer of the film.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)

This commercial Bollywood cinema starring Sanjay Dutt as the lead character was a hit in box office. Though the movie is not based on freedom struggle, this sequel of Munna Bhai MBBS coined a term ‘Gandhigiri’ (Gandhian philosophy) in India. The movie depicts how Gandhian principles are still relevant in present day life. Sanjay Dutt who played an underworld don sees the spirit of Gandhi and interacts with him. He follows the principles of Gandhi to solve problems. Marathi actor Dilip Prabhavalkar portrayed the role of Gandhiji.

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005)

In this psychological drama, veteran actor Anupam Kher essays the character of a retired Hindi professor, Uttam Chaudhary. The professor suffers from dementia and believes that he was accused of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi. The mentally ill gets medical intervention by his daughter (Urmila Matondkar) after her uncles narrates the childhood story which made the victim to believe that he killed Gandhi. The movie has been produced by Anupam Kher and directed by Jahnu Barua.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar (2010)

The Jabbar Patel directed autobiographical movie explores the life of Babasaheb Ambedkar played by south Indian superstar Mammootty. For the first time, Gandhi has been portrayed in grey shades. Mohan Gokhle donned the role of Gandhi.

 

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