Review Gandhi, My Father: A Decent Effort but Not Inspiring.

What happens when the person sitting next to you shed bucket loads of tears watching the display of emotions on the big screen, while you don’t even twitch a muscle? Well, some of us do end up doubting our “sensitivity” level however I have another reason to back my in-difference towards Feroz Khan’s Gandhi, My Father.

I guess when it comes to historical films or even autobiographical films for that matter – one should not be too opinionated, especially over the central character (s) or else it gets difficult to judge the true aesthetics of the film at hand. To be frank, I am not a Gandhi fan and I do not think very highly of him. In my opinion he one of the overly exaggerated historical figures of our country and many a times credited for not-so-deserving applauds.

Therefore with such (already formed) negative mind-set, I found it hard to even remotely relate to Feroz Khan’s main characters. Plus what’s shown in Anil Kapoor’s very first production effort, Harilal simply comes across as a screw-up and while we may understand his dissatisfaction (and resentment towards his father), it’s difficult to be supportive of his reasoning. On the other hand, placing the nation much higher than one’s own family were Mahatma’s firm beliefs, quite commendable I say however some of his actions towards his oldest were indeed quite perplexing.

Direction and story wise, I found the narrative to be very slow paced and at times a bit confusing. Gandhi, My Father feels like a series of incidents from Harilal’s life jotted together, ultimately falling flat in its outcome.

However giving credit where duly deserved, the film in my opinion is held together only on the foundation of some very impressive performances. Akshay Khanna as Harilal has done a fine job, though as always I find it difficult to concentrate on his performance and not his Ape-Like chest hair. The scene where he meets his parents at the train station in a drunken state and hands his mother an apple (or orange) while totally ignoring his father – was indeed one of best takes in Gandhi, My Father. Bhoomika Chawla and Shefali Shah, as wives of Gandhi men, have also done a commendable job with their performances without ever going overboard.

Overall, I found Gandhi, My Father to be a decent watch ( only thanks to some good acting) but fail to understand as to why it’s being labeled as a “masterpiece” by many of the top (??) film critics.