Indians protest against Gandhi film

Indians protest against warts-and-all Gandhi film

A new Bollywood film about Mahatma Gandhi's strained relations with his son has sparked protests weeks before it is set to open in Britain.

Calls to halt the release of Gandhi My Father, the story of the charismatic political leader whose nonviolent resistance to British rule won independence for India in 1947, were sounded yesterday — prompting his great-grandson to urge protesters to see the film before condemning it. It will be released in Britain and India on August 3. The protesters do not believe that a film about the father of their nation should explore his family crises — notably how Harilal, the eldest of four sons, converted to Islam to spite an overbearing father before reconverting to Hinduism as a penance and drinking himself to death.

Razi Ahmad, secretary of Gandhi Sangrahalaya, a research centre in Patna, is calling for Abdul Kalam, the president of India, to intervene and stop the film being screened.

"The name of Mahatma Gandhi or that of any other national leader should not be used for commercial purposes," he told journalists in India. "It is against the law of the land. We are of the view that any attempt to tarnish the image of national heroes should not be permitted."

Yesterday, Tushar Gandhi, the grandson of Manilal Gandhi — the second of Gandhi's sons — told The Times that people should give the film a chance, that he was impressed by its sensitivity, despite his own initial concerns before seeing it.

He said: "It is a very well-made film. It is sincere to the subject." Describing the strained relationship between Gandhi and Harilal as very tragic, he added that the film is not revealing anything that was not already in the public domain: "It's not as if any new filth has been brought out. What I like about the film is the sensitive exploration of relationships, the tragedy of silence. The biggest thing between father and son was the wall of silence. They were not able to communicate freely, unfortunately."

The film is shot in Hindi with English subtitles under the direction of Feroz Abbas Khan.

What are your thoughts... should a movie be made about someone's personal family life???