To the nation - he was the father
To his son - he was a father, he never had!
Written & Directed by Feroze Abbas Khan and based on the play - Mahatma v/s Gandhi - this film brings to surface the tumultous relationship between the Mahatma and his eldest son Harilal Gandhi.
Gandhi has always been a favorite among the storytellers and filmmakers in India. Also, in some cases overseas. Some movies have depicted Gandhi as the Mahatma, while others have depicted him as a leader and most importantly a normal human being - not the great soul (Mahatma)!
Frankly and personally - I admire Gandhi (Richard Attenborough’s film) for its cinematic brilliance but I don’t concur with its ideology... Because it was extremely straight-jacketed. The characters were either black or white. But I loved Sardar (Ketan Mehta’s film) and Hey Ram (Kamal Haasan’s film) because they showed Gandhi as Gandhi - not as Mahatma. These films humanized him.
So when I heard of Gandhi - My Father, I was hooked and wanted to see the film, thinking that this would push the envelope in terms of Gandhi’s projection... But, in the end, I was quite disappointed with the movie, as it was just a one-dimensional character projection.
The movie showed Harilal as a screwed-up son and Mohandas Gandhi as the ever-forgiving and ever-smiling Mahatma. There is no justification for Gandhi’s acts towards his family... To me he came across as a saint, however, he was more of a self-publicising political leader and a flawed father...
Except, characterization, the movie scores on almost all the other departments of filmmaking. Cinematography is of international quality and so is the background score. Nitin Desai’s artwork is authentic and amazing.
In a performance-driven film like this, Akshaye Khanna as Harilal is outstanding and so is Bhoomika (Gulab Gandhi) and Shefali Shah (Kasturba). But I was disappointed by the chap who played Gandhi Sr. He had a templated smile on his face right thru the movie and also the ageing nuance was not well grasped & projected by the actor. He seemed to have the energy levels of a 50-year old man at the phase of 70+. Not acceptable.
A cinematic poetry (visually), but devoid of a compelling and a thought-provoking script...
Gandhi - My Father - Quite Disappointing!