Screen Mahatmas: The Men Who Played Gandhi
On the 145th birth anniversary of the ‘Father of the Nation', here's a look at 10 onscreen Gandhiji portrayals.
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A stout bespectacled man clad in a dhoti and shawl, walking with the support of a lathi may not be difficult to impersonate. But if the man is one of the India's biggest freedom fighters Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi then the task becomes difficult. On the 145th birth anniversary of the ‘Father of the Nation', here's a look at 9 onscreen Gandhiji portrayals.
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Ben Kingsley, Gandhi (1982): Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Gandhiji has been among the earliest of bapu's onscreen avataars. The actor donned the Mahatma's role for Richard Attenborough's colossal film Gandhi, which also earned him the Academy Award in the Best Actor category.
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Mohan Gokhale, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (1998): Based on the life of Dr BR Ambedkar, Marathi actor Mohan Gokhale featured as Mahatma Gandhi in the movie. The film was re-released commercially in 2000. Mr Gokhale was also signed for Gandhiji's role in Hey Ram but he died before the shooting for his part began. The role was eventually played by actor Naseruddin Shah.
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Naseeruddin Shah, Hey Ram (2000): At the age of 14, actor Naseeruddin Shah auditioned for the role of Gandhiji in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. His aim back then was only to star in an international project which he recently revealed in an interview to PTI. The actor however did get a chance to play the role of Gandhi in Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram. Though it was a small part, but Naseer saab copied Gandhiji's style to the T.
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Dilip Prabhvalkar, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, (2006): In Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Marathi actor Dilip Prabhvalkar may not dressed the part (unlike others), but it was his convincing role play that won many hearts. The film had a huge impact on the audience and Mr Prabhvalkar's quirky Gandhigiri revived the country's interest the Mahatma's life like never before. His endearing chemistry with the film's lead actor Sanjay Dutt won him the National Award in the Best Supporting Actor category.
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Darshan Jariwala, Gandhi My Father (2007): The film depicting Gandhiji's turbulent relationship with his eldest son Harilal Gandhi went down well with the critics and the audiences, making it easy for Mr Jariwala, who featured as Gandhiji in it, to win the National Award in the Best Supporting actor category. Darshan emulated Gandhiji's dichotomy of his concern for his son and his moral stand with great nuance.
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Avijit Dutt, Dear Friend Hitler (2011): Thespian Avijit Dutt played Gandhi ji in this ill-fated film which met with a lot negative response. The plot of the movie was based on Gandhiji's correspondence with Adolf Hitler with the aim to juxtapose his ideology against the Nazi thought process.
