Gandhi My Father

The movie will come as a shock to anyone who only knows Gandhi as "Mahatma" !! It surely surprised me in more than one way.

Firstly, let me enumerate some of the most common thoughts which every Indian has about Mahatma Gandhi:

- He was father of our nation

- His concept of non-voilence and peace brought entire English kingdom to their knees

- He provided us "freedom" without any war

And with these thoughts, you will have an image of one of the most frail body with spectacles. (Am sure our knowledge is limited to above, except for few who have gone through some books on Gandhi).

And this is why the movie will surely shock every such Indian. Hardly anyone knows how deprived his own son was. Nor can anyone imagine the amount of pain his son might have gone through. The movie just tries to show a small portion of his hardships.

With due respect to Gandhi's supreme values and his efforts to make India an independent nation, when it came to perform as a father to his son, he failed miserably. He was so busy in his duty towards community / nation, that he allowed his son's destiny to take full control, without even giving the initial direction (which, I feel, is every father's prime responsibility). Though Harilal tried to rebuild, Gandhi's cult image and huge following, presented even more hurdles for him. Its surprising to know how Gandhi considered each of his son's failure as his "destiny", and finally disowning him completely. Its very difficult to come out of the movie without feeling pity for Harilal.

Technically speaking, the movie is very nicely directed and brings the subject in crisp and an effective manner. Keeping Gandhi's image in mind, the film does not show any "anger" and is scripted with dialogues only showing positive attitude. (Notable scene being Gandhi receiving a complaining letter from Harilal, where Gandhi istinctively praises his son's commitment to his beliefs). The film also depicts some cultural festival scenes with just enough color and details. Very strong

performances by Akshay and Darshan complete a beautiful "drama".

Ever wondered why we do not say "Tata", "Birla" and "Gandhi" in the same breath ?? This movie may just provide you an answer. While many people would have cashed in on the huge fan following, Gandhi never had any such intentions and nor did he help any of his relatives to do so !! Bravo to Father of our Nation. Pity for his son !!