A lot had been said about Anil Kapoor’s first movie as a producer "Gandhi - my father" before it released yesterday. Some people feared it would run into a controversy. Well. GMF does not run into any controversy and debutante director Feroz Abbas Khan deserves a pat at his back for not showing Gandhi as a bad father, very cleverly. He had earlier directed a play on the same topic called "Gandhi viruddh Gandhi" and what I have heard is that those who have watched the play will not like GMF. I would also like to say that a movie like GMF is not for the masses even if every Indian should watch it. The movie has no "masala" at all. It is not a commercial movie in any sense. It does remind one of a Shyam Benegal or a Govind Nihalini movie, in the sense that it belongs to the world of arthouse cinema.
The plot revolves around one family’s tragedy which is not known by many people. I’ll be honest here and say that I didn’t even know Gandhi had four sons and that his elder son, Harilal had destroyed himself. The first thing that aroused my curiosity to watch GMF is its subject. The plot revolves around the relationship of a father and a son and the growing distance between them. Anyone will be able to identify with their relationship. Gandhi (Darshan Zariwala) is a man of strict principles. He wants his elder son, Harilal (Akshaye Khanna) to help him fight for the country’s freedom. The obedient son starts doing so. He joins his father in South Africa (after getting married to Gulaab, played by Bhumika Chawla) and starts doing so. Infact, he was the first "satyagrahi". However, Harilal is a family man unlike his father.
He wants to study law from Britain and lead a common man’s life. Gandhi has an offer of sending his son to Britain and a mscholarship would also be provided to him. He doesn’t do so and tension begins to grow between Gandhi and "chota" Gandhi. In 2011, Harilal leaves South Africa and returns to India. He fails in his exam thrice and decides to start working since he now has to take the responsibility of his wife and children. But he reamains a failure in work too. His surname becomes a burden for him. Gandhi does try to help his son but fate had other plans. Gulaab and one of the children die and Hari is shattered. Thus follows a journey of self-destruction for him, which is termed as the "Devdas syndrome" by many. He starts borrowing money, drinking, visiting brothels and even converts to Islam and back. His hate for his father grows so much that he can’t even stand seeing his face but his love for his mother, Kasturbaa Gandhi (Shefali Chhaya) remains the same. The movie ends with both Hari’s death (just five months after his father passed aaway) and nobody recognising him. A tragedy.
All the performances are first-rate. Darshan Zariwala as Gandhi is as good as Ben Kingsley was in Richard Attenborough’s "Gandhi" or even Naseeruddin Shah was in Kamal Hasaan’s very controversial "Hey ram". We get to see Gandhi as a normal human-being here and how "gandhigiri" destroyed his own son’s life. Akshaye Khanna may not be a superstar but he is one of the finest actors around.
This is his finest performance so far and it can be made out from the trailers itself. He is fantastic in the scene where he comes out of his house shouting "main Gandhi ji kaa naalaayak beta hoo". Shefali Chhaya as Baa is another performance you carry home. I’ll say she is better than what Rohini Hattangady was in "Gandhi". Bhumika Chawla is effective in a supporting role. The background score is in sync with the mood of the movie. It was a good decision not the keep songs in the movie or the narrative would be interrupted. Direction is superb. However, the first-half is average and tendsa to get boring at parts. Feroz Abbas Khan must have researched a lot for the film and it shows. He deserves awards. Cinematography is rich.
Anil Kapoor may lose money as a producer but it must be said that it has been a very brave attempt on his part to produce a movie like GMF. This movie is a must for cinema-lovers. If you are into watching only commercial potboilers, don’t go for it.