Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Gandhi My Father (2007) - Hindi Movie Review

Ranking: 2.5/5

Cast: Dharshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, Bhumika Chawla, Shefali Shah
Director: Feroz Abbas Khan


The story is about the neglected son Harilal Gandhi (Akshaye) of M. K. Gandhi (Dharshan) better known as Bapu or the father of India. Harilal left with his family in India to fend for himself while his father and mother (Shefali) work in South Africa fighting inequality. Harilal gets married even before graduating from school or getting a job. Gandhi does not approve of it. Harilal later leaves his wife Gulab (Bhumika) to join his father in SA only to find that his father does not show any nepotism and at the same time does not encourage his son either. Harilal fights alongside his father but in the end tries to come back to India disowning his father.

His life goes through many downs and few ups...and the few ups also brought upon due to his getting influenced by wrong people. Every time he strays he comes back home to his
mothers comforting shoulder and a father who wants to help but is not sure how to. A father of the nation could not take care of his own son...such was the irony.

The reason I have given such low ranking for this critically acclaimed film is because of the fact that it is a little too slow and feels like forever. I was totally impressed with the acting aspect as well as the story but the movie could have had a better pace. There were a lot of things about Gandhi's life that was revealed here that I never knew before and it surely shows a different perspective on his life than what we have always been exposed to.

Movie can definitely be seen once though it does not boast of any entertainment value...a documentary of Harilal Gandhi's life at best.

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