Rarely in the history of Indian cinema do we touch upon such a sensitive topic! The failed relationship between a father and a son is poignant enough. But when it is about the Father of the Nation and his prodigal son – it wrings your heart and gives you an amazing insight into the burden of being the Mahatma’s son.
Should family be sacrificed on the altar of the freedom movement? It seems that the Mahatma decided that it would be so. We watch his son Harilal’s ambition of being a barrister being burnt to cinders along with his angrezi garments. Harilal attempts to resurrect himself but keeps failing. More in his own eyes than in his father’s – as the father is busy trying to hold together a disintegrating nation. And finally the burden of being an ideal son is too much for him to bear and he lets his life fall apart.
Full of poignant moments and hundreds of unanswered questions – the film to its great advantage passes no judgement on anyone. There is no ’bad guy’. One feels that both the father and son are justified – as their goals are different. We empathise with the father and sympathise with the son. That perhaps is why it is all the more powerful.
Gandhi My Father, marks the debuts of actor Anil Kapoor as producer and theatre personality Feroz Abbas Khan as writer-director. The film also works because of the wonderful performances from the four lead actors: Darshan Jhaveri as Mahatma Gandhi does an acceptable act, Akshaye Khanna as Harilal is in his elements, Shefali Shah as Kasturba Gandhi is amazing and Bhoomika Chawla as Harilal’s wife Gulab does a fantastic job as the encouraging wife of a wannabe great as dad son!
Having said that, the script does have many loopholes. At the end of the movie you are left a little bereft because of all the unanswered questions. Gandhiji’s angst is not properly explained. A little more research on what the real problem between Mahatma and his son was would have made this film a classic. For me the most poignant moment in the movie is when the news of the death of Gandhiji reaches Hiralal. The prodigal son is sitting in a little tea shop and all around him everyone is mourning the death of Bapu – while he calmly sips his cup of tea - unable to even mourn. That moment spoke volumes really.
However, it is a rare cinema in bollywood history and if you have not watched it yet, please do so.