Gandhi My Father (2007) Movie Information:
| Gandhi My Father (2007) Directed by: |
 Feroze Khan |
| Gandhi My Father (2007) Written by: |
| Feroze Khan |
| Gandhi My Father (2007) Cast: |
| Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, Shefali Shah, Bhumika Chawla, Daniel Janks, Vinay Jain, Ilanit Shapiro, Gregg Viljoen, Natalie Hughes, Bonnie Lee Bouman, Marion Hind |
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| Gandhi My Father (2007) U.S. Distributor: |
| Not available at this time |
| Gandhi My Father (2007) U.K. Distributor: |
| Eros |
|
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Gandhi My Father (2007) Synopsis:
In 1906, Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi (Jariwala and Shah) were living in South Africa, where Gandhi worked as a lawyer challenging segregationist rule. Their eldest son Hari (Khanna) returns from India with his new wife Gulab (Chawla) hoping to make something of his life. Over the next 40 years, the whole family returns to India, where Gandhi leads his entire nation in a peaceful uprising against the British colonialists. Meanwhile, Hari struggles with addictions, bad decisions, a weak will and living with a very famous father.
Gandhi My Father (2007) Movie Review:
With a sweeping scope and a strong attention to detail, this beautifully made film centres on the stormy relationship between Gandhi and his eldest son. It's overlong and repetitive, but it impressively gives us a full-bodied portrait of the icon.
In 1906, Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi (Jariwala and Shah) were living in South Africa, where Gandhi worked as a lawyer challenging segregationist rule. Their eldest son Hari (Khanna) returns from India with his new wife Gulab (Chawla) hoping to make something of his life. Over the next 40 years, the whole family returns to India, where Gandhi leads his entire nation in a peaceful uprising against the British colonialists. Meanwhile, Hari struggles with addictions, bad decisions, a weak will and living with a very famous father.
This is a fascinating story with some surprising edges, as we see Gandhi in a very new light--still as an important leader, but also as a man with cheeky humour and a strong will who never manages to sort out his relationship with his number one son, disapproving his marriage, belittling his opinions and yet also willing to forgive and support him. It's a complex relationship that's never simplified in the film, and is notably well-played by the cast.
Writer-director Khan manages the tricky job of balancing reverence for the immortal figure who fathered a nation with the flesh and blood man who wasn't always so perfect. He shows us a side of Gandhi that's even more sympathetic than what we've seen before--a man so dedicated to justice that he refuses to give his children any advantage, and then can't understand why people criticise him for that. And as Hari is suffocated by his father's expectations, judgement and emotional distance, it's not surprising he goes off the rails.
As it progresses, the film loses track of Hari's siblings and children to focus closely on his father's politics and their troubled relationship. This narrows the film sharply, losing the family context and falling into the cyclical nature of Hari's alcoholism, jobs, scams and religions. All of this tragedy, reconciliation, heroism and stupidity are somewhat tiring to watch. And yet it's a vital, important portrait of Gandhi. And an intriguing look at a man who can't live in, or escape, his father's shadow.
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Gandhi My Father (2007) review written by: Rich Cline
