Gandhi, My Father poster & wallpaper

Akshaye Khanna, Bhoomika Chawla, Bonnie Lee Bouman

Set against the backdrop of Mahatma Gandhi's political career, "Gandhi, My Father" tells story of one of the most important father figures in contemporary history and his failed relationship with his ...( read more  read more... )eldest son, Harilal Gandhi. A rift formed between the two when Gandhi denied his son the opportunity to study law in Great Britain. Harilal left his father in South Africa and returned to India determined to make it on his own. Instead he spent years roaming the streets like a beggar, converting to Islam as an act of rebellion, converting back to Hinduism as penance and finally drinking himself to death. Five months after the death of Mahatma Gandhi, Harilal died, destitute and alone in a hospital in Bombay.

Flixster Users

66% liked it

2,262 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

15 critics

Unrated, 2 hrs. 6 min.

Directed by: Feroz Abbas Khan, Feroze Khan

Release Date: August 3, 2007

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007

Stats: 199 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

None yet... Got one?

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (199)

  • habitualdamnation
    April 14, 2008
    habitualdamnation
    For a Hindi film, this turned out pretty decent. It felt genuine and the melodrama can be quite rewardin at times. Akshaye has that look which convinces you that he truly is unlucky and he doesn't mean to be the cunt that he is. Of course, he looks nothin like the apparent real l...( read more)ife bastard that we read about.
  • Dracula787
    March 2, 2009
    Dracula787
    I always liked Richard Attenborough?s biopic about the life of Mohandas Gandhi, but I never loved it. It was a highly conventional film which ignored the complexities of history in favor of a wildly reverential look at its subject. Another problem I had with it was that it seem...( read more)ed odd to see British filmmakers taking it upon themselves to chronicle another countries hero for them. That?s why I was very interested to see what a movie about Gandhi made for and by Indians would be like. While the film is not a complete failure, it does give me a newfound respect Attenborough?s decision, because the Bollywood film style kind of proves itself incapable of the level of realist filmmaking that this story requires. There just seems to be something in the very blood of how this industry makes movies that leans toward artificiality and melodrama.

    The film does not focus on Gandhi?s anti-colonial campaign or his politics in general, rather it is meant to be a look at his personal life, particularly in regards to his son Harilal Gandhi who strayed from the advice of his father and was often in the middle of fraud, and other unscrupulous activities. Gandhi himself is portrayed as an unsympathetic father who was often downright cold in his tough love approach.

    The film?s biggest problem is Akshaye Khanna, who plays Harilal. His performance reminded me of an anecdote Danny Boyle told about casting the role of Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle explained that he was forced to go outside of India in the casting for the simple reason that every male actor in India looked like a buff dancer rather than a real common person, and I think this is the casting problem that the filmmakers faced here. Akshaye Khanna seems very miscast, he doesn?t look like his father or anyone else likely to be in his situation in the 20s and 30s. His hair is always perfectly styled and he shows no sign of wear on his face. The situation is complicated further by the fact that he is well over 30, but still plays Harilal in scenes where he?s supposed to be about eighteen and looks way too old. Darshan Jariwala fares a little better in the role of Gandhi, but unfortunately he has a distractingly weird shaped head that?s on full display when he?s bald, this is a shallow complaint but it?s distracting nonetheless. Ben Kingsley will not be wanting of work any time soon.

    The rest of the film basically suffers from its indecisiveness as to whether or not Gandhi is a jerk or not. I can see why they?d hesitate to depict him in a negative light, but the whole thing just comes off as soft and indecisive. Harilal himself is a generally frustrating character as he zig zags between whether or not he wants to get his act together, one scene he?s finally doing all right, the next back to being a disgrace.

    The film generally does a good job at focusing on it?s subject, the personal life of the Gandhi family, until the last half hour when the film when frustratingly it quits focusing on Harilal and begins recounting the politics of Gandhi which it had smartly ignored throughout the rest of the film. This brings the central story to a screeching halt and the rest of the film just seems like a second rate version off the Attenborough film. This is not a horrible movie, but it is one that doesn?t know what it wants to be and which fails as a work of realist filmmaking. A nice curiosity, but nothing more.
  • karenshaub
    October 29, 2009
    karenshaub
    While reading a collection of Gandhi's writings I came upon a mention of his son having converted to Islam. I was very surprised since Attenborough's film had completely skipped over any children and so I couldn't wait to see this film when I learned of it. I was expecting them t...( read more)o have had some sort of violent, acrimonious parting, but that doesn't really seem to have been the case. The story is an old one though; very successful Dad expects son to go into the family business but son wants to do something else and this inevitably drives a wedge between them. The main difference is that here the son wants to be what his Dad USED to be (namely a Barrister) and Dad's new business is Self-Sacrificing Servant of the People. The son (Harilal) follows obediently through the early years in South Africa, all the while quietly harboring a small grudge because others are given what he feels should be his, but he never gives up his dreams of accomplishing something big and impressing Dad--never realizing what it would really take to do that. Its a sad story of a father and mother whose arms are always open to welcome back a son who just can't stay out of trouble and uses the family name to steal money from others. Its also the story of how a great man can be a father to millions who have never seen him, but can't really connect with a child born of his own blood. My one problem with the film was the casting. So much depended on Akshaye Khanna as Harilal, and to me he was inadequate. He had one expression that resembled nothing so much as cocker spaniel that has just been caught urinating on the carpet. However Shefali Shah as Hari's mother is truly the shining star in this film. Her suffering as she tries to hold her family together is poignant and resonates with all audiences.
  • missheru25
    July 3, 2008
    missheru25
    I remember we were required to watch this movie last September,2007. Nice direction and acting but I found this film very boring because of its poor writing, they made the story longer which is supposed to be short. Because of it, it did not gained box office. That time, We wante...( read more)d to get outside the theater to eat instead.
  • doublej107
    February 8, 2008
    doublej107
    a true story not told at all
  • rajivbh70
    November 6, 2007
    rajivbh70
    in this flim i can know there are lot of stories.....thanx to this movie
  • FuturistiK
    September 28, 2007
    FuturistiK
    The acting was xcellent by the cast but the movie dragged a lot and did not hold much interest...
  • komal612
    August 23, 2007
    komal612
    A story about gandhi's son and the india and pakistan split. A true story.

View All Gandhi, My Father Reviews

Critic Reviews

October 14, 2007
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Gandhi, My Father weakly opts for lionization at precisely the moment it should go in for the killshot. full review

August 3, 2007
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

A long-distance trek with refreshment breaks. full review

View more Gandhi, My Father reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • nazmondo
    August 29, 2007
    nazmondo
    excellent film and outstanding performance by Akshaye Khanna. Tragic story, with a blunt & abrupt ending, but was highly appropriate.
  • komal612
    August 23, 2007
    komal612
    It was a very sweet, sad, serious film. The three Ss. Akshaye's acting was superb and bringing the past into it was great.
Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Official Trailer

View Larger Gandhi, My Father Trailer

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Earth
    Earth (100%)
  • Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara
    Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (100%)
  • Water
    Water (100%)
  • Lagaan - Once Upon a Time in India
    Lagaan - Once Upon a Time in India (100%)

More Movies like Gandhi, My Father

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Gandhi, My Father : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Gandhi, My Father. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Gandhi, My Father to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?