Themes: Political Unrest, Colonialism, Social Injustice
Main Cast: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard
Release Year: 1982
Country: UK/IN
Run Time: 195 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. In the horrendous "slaughter" sequence, more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as photographer Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day-Lewis. Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Gandhi is a worshipful tribute to one of the 20th century's greatest leaders with Ben Kingsley giving a superb performance in the title role. Produced and directed on a grand scale by Richard Attenborough, the film sacrifices the complexities of history for an inspirational focus on its subject. Critics frequently cite the film's dismissal of supporting character development among its weaknesses, with the strongest objections reserved for Candice Bergen's miscast performance as photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White. Nonetheless, the film transcends the typical biopic with vivid recreations of important incidents from Gandhi's life. More than 300,000 extras, most of them unpaid volunteers, are said to have taken part in the funeral sequence, which occupies only slightly more than two minutes of the film. As was widely predicted, the film swept the Oscars, winning eight, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
John Mills - Lord Chelmsford; Martin Sheen - Walker; Rohini Hattangady - Kasturba Gandhi; Ian Charleson - Charlie Andrews; Athol Fugard - Gen. Smuts; Saeed Jaffrey - Sardar Patel; Geraldine James - Mirabehn; Alyque Padamsee - Mohamed Ali Jinnah; Amrish Puri - Khan; Roshan Seth - Pandit Nehru; Ian Bannen - Senior Police Officer; Michael Bryant - Principal Secretary; John Clements - Advocate General; Richard Griffiths - Collins; Nigel Hawthorne - Kinnoch; Bernard Hepton - G.O.C.; Michael Hordern - Sir George Hodge; Peter Harlowe - Lord Mountbatten; Jane Myerson - Lady Mountbatten; Avis Bunnage - Colin's Mother; Norman Chancer - Reporter; Geoffrey Chater - Government Advocate; Charu Bala Chokshi - Ayah; James Cossins - Brigadier; Daniel Day-Lewis - Colin; Gareth Forwood - Secretary; Rupert Frazer - Cavalry Troop Leader; David Gant - Daniels; Christopher Good - Young Englishman; Dominic Guard - Subaltern; Günther Maria Halmer - Herman Kallenbach; Terence Hardiman - Ramsey MacDonald; Stewart Harwood - Prison Officer; Bernard Hill - Sergeant Putnam; Bernard Horsfall - Gen. Edgar; William Hoyland - Adjutant; Ken Hutchison - Police Sergeant; Richard Leech - Brigadier; David Markham - Older Englishman; Richard Mayes - Baker; Stanley McGeagh - Prison Guard; Harsh Nayyar - Nathuran Vinayak Godse; Winston Ntshona - Porter; Brian Oulton - Clerk of Court; Nana Palsikar - Villager; Daniel Peacock - Youth; Om Puri - Nahari; John Quentin - Batsman; John Ratzenberger - American Lieutenant; Shane Rimmer - Commentator; John Savident - Manager of the Mine; Gerald Sim - Magistrate; John Vine - A.D.C.; Marius Weyers - Conductor; Jalal Agha - Traveller on Train Roof; John Boxer - Court Reporter; Ray Burdis - Youth; Peter Cartwright - European Passenger; Ernest Clark - Lord Hunter; Richard Vernon - Sir Edward Gait; Neena Gupta - Abha; Barry John - Police Superintendant; Stanley Lebor - Police Officer; Supriya Pathak - Manu; Graham Seed - Wicket-Keeper; David Sibley - Subaltern; James Snell - Court Reporter; Dalip Tahil - Zia; Jon Croft - Colonel; Jack McKenzie - Major at Aga Khan Palace; Colin Farrell - Clerk
Credit
Norman Dorme - Art Director, Ram Yedekar - Art Director, Bob Laing - Art Director, Rani Dube - Co-producer, John Mollo - Costume Designer, Bhanu Athaiya - Costume Designer, David Tomblin - First Assistant Director, Richard Attenborough - Director, Govind Nihalani - Second Unit Director, John Bloom - Editor, Michael Stanley-Evans - Executive Producer, Ravi Shankar - Composer (Music Score), Govind Nihalani - Camera Operator, Stuart Craig - Production Designer, Robert Laing - Production Designer, Ronnie Taylor - Cinematographer, Billy Williams - Cinematographer, Richard Attenborough - Producer, Terence A. Clegg - Producer, Michael Stanley-Evans - Producer, Michael Seirton - Set Designer, David Hathaway - Special Effects, Simon Kaye - Sound/Sound Designer, Robin O'Donoghue - Sound/Sound Designer, Jonathan Bates - Sound Editor, Robert Bolt - Screenwriter, John Briley - Screenwriter, George Fenton - Additional Music, A.K. Bir - First Assistant Camera
The film opens with a statement from the filmmakers explaining their approach to the problem of filming Gandhi's complex life story:
“
No man's life can be encompassed in one telling... least of all Gandhi's, whose passage through life was so entwined with his nation's struggle for freedom. There is no way to give each event its allotted weight, to recount the deeds and sacrifices of all the great men and women to whom he and India owe such immense debts. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record of his journey, and to try to find one's way to the heart of the man...
”
The film begins with Gandhi's assassination on 30 January 1948, and his funeral. After an evening prayer, an elderly Gandhi is helped out for his evening walk to meet a large number of greeters and admirers. One of these visitors-Nathuram Godse-shoots him point blank in the chest. Gandhi exclaims, "Oh, God!" ("Hē Ram!" historically), and then falls dead. The film then cuts to a huge procession at his funeral, which is attended by dignitaries from around the world.
The early life of Gandhi is not depicted in the film. Instead, the story flashes back 55 years to a life-changing event: in 1893, Gandhi is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian. He then decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. After numerous arrests and garnering the unwanted attention of the world, the government finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of South Africa.
After this victory, Gandhi is invited back to India, where he is now considered something of a national hero. He is urged to take up the fight for India's independence from the British Empire. Gandhi agrees, and mounts a non-violent non-cooperation campaign of unprecedented scale, coordinating millions of Indians nationwide. There are some setbacks, such as violence against the protesters and Gandhi's occasional imprisonment.
Nevertheless, the campaign generates great attention, and Britain faces intense public pressure. Too weak from World War II to continue enforcing its will in India, Britain finally grants India's independence. Indians celebrate this victory, but their troubles are far from over. Religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims erupt into nation-wide violence. Gandhi declares a hunger strike, saying he will not eat until the fighting stops.
The fighting does stop eventually, but the country is divided by religion. It is decided that the northwest area of India, and eastern part of India (current day Bangladesh), both places where Muslims are in the majority, will become a new country called Pakistan (West and East Pakistan respectively). It is hoped that by encouraging the Muslims to live in a separate country, violence will abate. Gandhi is opposed to the idea, and is even willing to allow Muhammad Ali Jinnah to become the first prime minister of India, but the Partition of India is carried out nevertheless.
Gandhi spends his last days trying to bring about peace between both nations. He thereby angers many dissidents on both sides, one of whom finally gets close enough to assassinate him in a scene at the end of the film that recalls the opening.
As Godse shoots Gandhi, the film fades to black and Gandhi is heard in a voiceover, saying "Oh God". The audience then sees Gandhi's cremation; the film ending with a scene of Gandhi's ashes being scattered on the holy Ganga. As this happens, we hear Gandhi in another voiceover:
“
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.
Shooting began on 26 November 1980 and ended on 10 May 1981. Approximately 400,000 extras were used in the funeral scene, the most for any film according to Guinness World Records.[1]
Cast
During pre-production, there was much speculation[weasel words] as to who would play the role of Gandhi. The choice was Ben Kingsley who is partly of Indian heritage (his father was Gujarati and his birth name is Krishna Bhanji). Casting director for the film was Dolly Thakore, an Indian theatre actress who later went on to be casting director in several British Indian films.
This film had been Richard Attenborough's dream project, although two previous attempts at filming had been attempted and failed. In 1952, Gabriel Pascal secured an agreement with the Prime Minister of India (Pandit Nehru) to produce a film of Gandhi's life. However, Pascal died in 1954 before preparations were completed.[citation needed] Later David Lean and Sam Spiegel planned to make a film about Gandhi after completing The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), reportedly with Alec Guinness as Gandhi. Ultimately, the project was abandoned in favour of Lawrence of Arabia (1962).[citation needed]
Critical response
Reviews were broadly positive. Many years later the movie received an 85% "fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website[3]. Ben Kingsley's performance was especially praised. Historian Lawrence James was one of the few who took a more negative view of the film.[4]
