Gandhi My Father
Nation’s Pride & Son’s Vies
By Vishal Verma

Rating:- * *1/2

What is it?
The word ‘Gandhi’ always draws your attention; anything on the mahatma develops immense interest and curiosity. You always want to know more and more about the life and ideologies of the great soul who once ruled the hearts of almost every Indian.

The greatest irony for any Indian filmmaker is that the first film on Gandhi was made by a foreign film maker (Richard Attenborough) which won as much as 8 Oscars and still remains the best work on Gandhi on the marquee.

Our desi filmmakers then realized the potential of the brand ‘Gandhi’ and started making films which where a decent attempt but not to the class of Attenbourgh’s Gandhi.

GANDHI MY FATHER, Anil kapoor’s maiden venture as a producer also tries to embark on the brand ‘Gandhi’ which has tremendous international potential.

Anil’s attempt to try his hand on an off beat subject is commendable and also he tries to portray the plight of a human being who gathers all the love and affection from the nation and still longs for the love and acceptability from his son.

This moving saga between ‘Bapu’ and his eldest son Harilal could have been a stimulating cinematic experience but alas, in order to depict the period , writer -director Feroz Abbas Khan concentrates more on the pittal ka lotas, charkha’s and train, in his maiden attempt and gives less importance to the conflicts and clash of ideologies.

And as a result of the excitement in depicting the era and aura of the freedom struggle the substance goes for a toss. The viewer is left to make his own judgments on Harilal’s believes and wants.

Everybody understands Gandhi’s point of view but Harilal’s point of view and the reason for the differences are not explained from the grass root level.

But the movie has its maverick moments which come late during the second half and it has some breathtaking photography by David Macdonald and rousing performances by the lead cast and exemplary art direction by Nitin Desai.

Whats it all about?
Harilal (Akshaye Khanna) is the eldest son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) and Kasturba Gandhi (Shefali Shah). Harilal desire is   to become a barrister and study abroad, but his father wants him to follow his path and set an example of his own like himself. Harilal gets married to Gulab (Bhumika Chawla) and they both land up in South Africa. Harilal joins the movement of his father but the passion to study law keeps burning inside.

Harilal gets a shock when his principled father sends his nephew for further studies, thus bowing the seeds of difference between the two (that’s what I understood). Harilal then leaves South Africa and his father and heads towards his goal (which one?). The estranged son leaves his father and finds failure everywhere. In the tryst to find his identity, Harilal does everything; he changes religion, jobs, and places but everywhere tastes the bitter truth of failure and his background. When all hell go loose he tries to find solace in alcohol, roams on streets like a beggar  only to make matter worse for himself and his family.

What to look out for?
Some maverick moments between Ba and Bapu, Ba and Harilal, scene at the katni station, scene during the freedom celebration when a person gives the Indian flag to the ragged Harilal, when Harilal comes to know about the death of his father on radio. All these shots are work of cinematic brilliance. Nitin Desai ‘s art work is exemplary, camerawork by    David Macdonald is breathtaking.

Talk about performance, well after initial hiccup Akshaye Khanna gets into the skin of the character and delivers a fine performance. Darshan Jariwala as Gandhi is just fine. Bhumika Chawla is natural. Shefali Shah as Ba walks with the maximum accolades. This gifted actor is adept and competent throughout the film.

What Not?
The film only narrates one part of the story, the son’s trauma and reason for the difference is hardly established. The narration is slow-placed and lacks intensity. You only get involved during the second half. First half fails to develop any interest.

Recommended: well, it depends whether you have watched the earlier works on Gandhi and now desire to get some gyan on the emotionally moving relationship between the father of the nation and his estranged son.