''Gandhi, My Father'' is a 2007 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Feroz Abbas Khan. It was produced by

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Indian television and international films. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a ...

, and released on 3 August 2007. The film stars Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, Bhumika Chawla, and Shefali Shah. The film explores the troubled relationship between

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and his son Harilal Gandhi. The film is based upon the biography of Harilal Gandhi, titled ''Harilal Gandhi: A Life'' by Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal. Khan's play, ''Mahatma vs. Gandhi'', while different from this film, had a similar theme which was based on a novel by Gujarati author Dinkar Joshi. The film was shot in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and in several

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n cities, including

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

Plot

''Gandhi My Father'' paints the picture of Gandhi's intricate, complex, and strained relationship with his son, Harilal Gandhi. From the onset, the two had dreams in opposite directions. 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 causes in India. When Gandhi does not give Harilal the opportunity to study abroad, it comes as a blow to Harilal. He decides to abandon his father’s vision and leaves South Africa for India, where he joins his wife Gulab and children. He goes back to further his education to earn his diploma but continuously fails and ends in financial ruins. Various plans and schemes to make money fail, leaving the family in poverty. Sick of his failure, Gulab returns to her parents’ house with the children, where she eventually dies from the flu epidemic. Distraught, Harilal turns to alcohol for solace and converts to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, only to revert to a different sect of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

later on. With political tension heating up, the rift between Gandhi and his eldest son grows until it is beyond repair. Harilal finds it unbearable to live in the enormous shadow of his father. Gandhi is assassinated before the two can reconcile, and Harilal attends his father's funeral virtually as a stranger, almost unrecognizable to those around him. A short while later, he passes away, alone and in poverty, having failed to find his own identity.

Cast

* Darshan Jariwala as

* Akshaye Khanna as Harilal Gandhi * Bhumika Chawla as Gulab Gandhi * Shefali Shah as

Kasturba Gandhi Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturba Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist who was involved in the Indian independence movement during British Raj, British India. She was married to Mohandas ...

*Vinay Jain as Kanti Gandhi *

Mona Ambegaonkar Mona Ambegaonkar (born 5 March 1970) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and television. She has featured in over 15 plays, 18 feature films, 38 TV projects, 37 advertising campaigns. She had a minor role in film '' Hazaar Chaurasi Ki ...

as Prostitute

Reception

Philip French Philip Neville French (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film critic. H ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

called it "one of the most revealing and courageous movies ever to come out of India." He further wrote that "It will be an eye-opener to those whose knowledge of the Mahatma is limited to

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

's epic

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

." Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM gave the film 4 out of 5, writing, "As a cinematic experience, GANDHI MY FATHER unfolds in the most simplistic, but compelling manner. Since the director is talking history, he ought to do the balancing act well. He reproduces facts without resorting to cinematic liberties and at the same time, simplifies everything so that the viewer can decipher it well. Conversely, Derek Elley of the Variety wrote, "There’s enough material here for a powerful story of onstage/offstage family conflict, but the movie fails to build a dramatic head of steam across its two-hour-plus span."

Awards

55th National Film Awards

* Special Jury Award - Feroz Abbas Khan and Anil Kapoor *Best Screenplay - Feroz Abbas Khan *Best Supporting Actor - Darshan Jariwala

2008 Zee Cine Awards

*Critics Award (Best Film) - Anil Kapoor *Critics Award (Best Actress) - Shefali Shah

2007
Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

* Best Screenplay - Feroz Abbas Khan

References

External links

* * {{National Film Award Special Jury Award feature film Films about Mahatma Gandhi Films set in the Indian independence movement 2007 films 2000s Hindi-language films Indian biographical films Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award–winning performance Films shot in Gujarat Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners