SIDDHARTH KAVADIA, STUDENT

According to me the best-portrayed image of Gandhi was by the British actor Ben Kingsley, in Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi, which also won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. The film not only spoke about Gandhiji’s personal or political life during the independence movement but also depicted the growth of Gandhi as a political leader and national hero who became an inspiration for all the generations.

KETAN BAFNA, BUSINESSMAN

Lately, I have seen Anil Kapoor’s Gandhi, My Father; I really liked the film as it shows a side of Gandhi that me may not have known to many of us. Gandhi is known as father of the nation, but the film shows another aspect portraying the troubled relationship between Harilal Gandhi, enacted by Akshaye Khanna, and his father, Mahatma Gandhi, reprised by Darshan Jariwala. But I also liked Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi and Kamal Hassan's Hey Ram where Naseeruddin Shah played Gandhi.

ADINATH KHEDKAR, STUDENT

I am a big follower of Gandhiji, and in literature he has been my best subject for study. Although many films based on Gandhi and his values are very good, I feel the theme of Lage Raho Munnabhai was a different experiment to reach out to maximum audience specially the youngsters. It popularised gandhism values and showed the audiences how Gandhigiri works amid corrupt system. It also showed the relevance of Satyagraha and with a comic theme it also became commercially successful. Many times movies made on such topics become a documentary type and failed to attract common man’s interest. After the film there were many real life incidences, heard of, where Gandhigiri was used as a tool to fight corrupt practices.

SNIGDHA N, EXECUTIVE

I think Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi was the best depiction of Bapuji. Although, in today’s era of commercial cinema, many films play around the theme of periodic films, and perhaps, some movies to an extent, reflect the interpretation of the subject; this was not made keeping in mind the box-office collections.

SANGHARSH KESAR, MANAGER

My choice is Swades; the film depicts Gandhi’s values in true sense relating it to the current day situation. The film portrays a person, who despite all the big opportunities he has got, thinks about community development and giving back to the society. In the last two decades the trend has been that people study in India and then go to western countries to earn more and everyone is bothered about personal development in terms of money, fame and other luxuries of life.

PRAKASH PETVE, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

I really liked the Marathi play Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy . It features the circumstances of Gandhi’s assassination very well . Gandhi himself was a great author; his writings have always inspired and interested me. Talking about films, I think Shyam Benegal’s Making of the Mahatma was an excellent piece of work. Besides, I also like Lage Raho Munna Bhai; it is a lesson for all of us.

MALVIKA THETE, STUDENT

Although Swades was not a film that featured Gandhiji’s personality, I feel it was a true depiction of his teachings that are needed in today’s era.

SCRIPTING MAHATMA

2007: In Anil Kapoor’s Gandhi, My Father, Darshan Jariwala portrayed Gandhiji in an estranged relationship with his son Harilal.

2006: Dilip Prabhavalkar, in Lage Raho Munna Bhai played Gandhi. The new term Gandhigiri emerged.

2005: Mohan Jhangiani depicted Gandhi, in a cameo, in the film Water

2005: The film Mangal Pandey —The Rising, ends with footage on Gandhi.

2005: Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara is a story of an Alzheimer’s patient who begins to believe that he was accused of being the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

2004: Swades the film featuring Shahrukh Khan, “epitomizes Gandhi’s values” according to Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi.

2001: Surendra Rajan plays Gandhi in the film Veer Savarkar.

2000: Mohan Gokhale, in the film Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar portrays Gandhi

2000: Hey Ram, a film made by Kamal Hassan portrays a would-be assassin of Gandhi and the dilemma faced by the would-be assassins in the turmoil of post-partition India. Naseeruddin Shah portrays Gandhi in the film.

1998: In a biopic of the founder of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Sam Dastor portrays Gandhi in Jinnah

1996: Rajit Kapur portrays Gandhi in The Making of the Mahatma, a Shyam Benegal film about Gandhi’s life in South Africa.

1993 Annu Kapoor portrays Gandhi in the Ketan Mehta’s Sardar.

1982 Ben Kingsley depicts Gandhi in the award-winning film, Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.

1963 Gandhi is portrayed by JS Casshyap in Nine Hours to Rama based upon the 1962 book by Stanley Wolpert.

1980: The opera Satyagraha, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by himself and Constance De Jong is based on Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa.