Gandhi My Father Review

There have been number of films made in the last couple of decades which have revolved around Father of The Nation - Mahatma Gandhi. While most of them have primarily been centered on his fight for the country's freedom, a few have also delved into his personal life. GANDHI MY FATHER is different since this is the first film that extensively talks about his relation with his eldest son Harilal.

The film's essence lies in its very tagline that clearly outlines the subject which producer Anil Kapoor wanted to bring alive on screen -

"To people he was a father, To his son he was a father he never had"

The message is quite clear. The relationship shared between Gandhiji and Harilal was torrid to say the least with the issues that probably never came out in open. While Gandhiji was fighting for the country, he had his own inner battles to fight.

This was a fight that saw him loosing his own son. This was a fight that saw him being rebuked by his own son. This was a fight that forced him to disown his own son.

What was the reason behind that?

What made Harilal first embrace Islam as a rebellion and then later reconvert to Hinduism as a penance?
Why couldn't Gandhiji keep the emotions of his own son in check when he had an entire nation surrendering their emotions to him?
What was it that hurt Harilal so much that while his father paved the way of prosperity for the nation, he himself lived the life of a beggar?
What went so wrong between the two that while the entire world respected him as a great force, his own son turned out to be so weak that he walked the road of being an alcoholic?

Meanwhile Gandhiji made sure that in spite of all the personal, social and political struggles, he put his principles and quest for human dignity above everything else!

Of course there were wounds but wasn't it difficult to measure that whose wounds were bigger - Gandhiji's or Harilal's?

Come, watch the drama unfold in one of the most prestigious films ever to be coming from the world of Bollywood. With Darshan Zariwala donning the role of Gandhiji and Akshaye Khanna bringing Harilal to life, GANDHI MY FATHER also stars Shefali Chhaya as Kasturba Gandhi and Bhumika Chawla as Gulab Gandhi, Harilal's wife.

Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, GANDHI MY FATHER releases all over on 3rd August.