Movie Review: Gandhi, My Father…

There is a buzz all around regarding Gandhi and ‘Gandhigiri’, thanks to Munnabhai… but all of it focuses on the public side of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. For the first time, we have a movie presenting not ‘the father of the nation’ but ‘the father to his son’ side of this great leader.

To begin with, “Gandhi, My Father” is the story of the relationship between the father Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) and his eldest son Harilal (Akshay Khanna). For Harilal, life became an open rebellion to his father’s idealistic principles and being a son to such an exemplary public figure was nothing less than a curse for him.

The first and the foremost thing that strikes you while watching this movie are the brilliant performances by all the actors. Darshan Jariwala has given an amazing job in the role of the Gandhi and he truly lives up to the simplicity yet the grandeur of playing someone so influential. Akshay Khanna delivers a ground-breaking performance. For the first time, Khanna has really tried something different from the mainstream commercial Hindi cinema and he has undoubtedly proved his versatility as a promising actor. Both Shefali Shah as the mother of Harilal (i.e. Kasturba Gandhi) and Bhumika Chawla as the wife of Harilal have also befittingly lived up to their parts.

Director Feroze Khan has given a good treatment to the film though somewhere or the other; the film loses its pace slightly. But one just tends to overlook these minor ups and downs as otherwise the film really packs some great moments that leave you emotionally moved. The cinematography department is fabulous and so is the background score of the movie. The sepia tinted frames of the movie are beautifully alluring that remind you of the historicity of the movie’s events.

It surely is a thriving step for actor turned producer Anil Kapoor to venture out on his movie-producing career with something as phenomenal as this one. It’s for certain that this one is going to bring the entire crew a lot of acclaim…..

A well-done job!!!