60 successful men and women of India

Hindustan Times selected 60 successful men and women on account of 60th anniversary of India from all parts of life. Here is the Film Icons.

Cinema, cinema

Guru Dutt:
This doyen of Indian cinema started out as a telephone operator and is remembered for his genre bending films such as Pyaasa and Kagaz ke phool.

Raj Kapoor:
The Showman of Hindi Cinema established his own studio, R.K. Films, at 24 and became the youngest film director of his time.

Amitabh Bachchan:
Bollywood hasn’t seen a superstar like the Angry Young Man. And it will never find a Busy Old Man like him.

Rajnikanth:
Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, he started off as a bus conductor. Made more than 160 Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali movies.

Shabana Azmi:
This natural actress is known for her trend-setting performances in experimental cinema.

Satyajit Ray:
Called the Giant of Indian cinema; he was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his contribution to cinema in 1992.

Mira Nair:
Pioneering the genre of films expressing NRI angst, her first movie Salaam Bombay won 25 international awards.

Shah Rukh Khan:
King Khan as he is popuarly known is the reigning superstar of the Indian film industry.

Ash not expecting

Ash not expecting! Afsos! galat jawaab: Abhishek, Aishwarya and Amitabh Bachchan

Contrary to certain reports, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan are not becoming dada-dadi soon. On Thursday, a daily put out the news that Aishwarya Rai is preggers and the entire Bachchan clan is in celebratory mode.However, the Big B is nothing short of angry at the irresponsible news. “Your information is as good as mine. The report is incorrect,” he said rather icily.

Taare Zameen Par was a gift from the universe: Tisca Chopra

 

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Tisca Chopra, who is riding high after bagging the opportunity of working with the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in his directorial debut “Taare Zameen Par”, says the offer came as a surprise to her.

“‘Taare Zameen Par’ was a gift for me from the universe. I never expected to work alongside Aamir Khan and the role just happened to come to me,” Tisca told IANS.

The svelte actress, who has previously acted in Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Hyderabad Blues 2”, says she has lots of expectations from the Indian film industry and that she wants to try her hand at various genres of filmmaking.

“I’m very greedy. I expect to play a lot of roles, the more complex the better because they are more challenging and fun. I want to act in comedies, action and period films,” she said.

“I really would love to play the characters of Indira Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu or a woman from the Taliban regime if someone makes a film on them.”

Tisca said she was looking forward to international offers and added that she also wanted to work with national award-winning actors and directors as she could learn a lot from these talented people from the celluloid industry.

“I want to work in international projects because I feel it’s not wise to be a big fish in a small pond. One has to venture out of his or her country to be successful.

“I am very ambitious and I want to act with the best in business and that would mean working with the national award winners of the last five years,” Tisca said.

She added that she is a movie buff to the core and that she is also planning to start her own production company. “I eat, drink and breathe cinema. I write a lot and am currently developing a couple of scripts. One day I would love to start my own production company.”

Tisca, who is married to Indian Air Force officer Captain Sanjay Chopra, said her husband has been very supportive of her acting career and that he pushes her and motivates her to chase her dreams.

“I discuss everything with my husband. He is the pillar of strength and support for me. He is very critical of my work and even shouts at me if I don’t do a good job,” she added.

Ash attempts a sour dough bun.

It was way past mid-night, almost early morning. Years ago, Big B’s ancestors in Allahabad by this time used to be awake and milking the cows already. But this is Bombay, a city best understood by imagining New York and Los Angeles rolled into one. A city of extreme contrasts. A place populated by industrialists richer than the Queen of England while also a home to people poorer than the crack whore in the inner cities of USA.

The residence of the Khan apartment were alarmed by a sharp but unrelenting knock on their door. Salim Saheb, the patriarch of the family thought that perhaps one of the guests from the party that had ended moments ago had forgotten something and was returning to collect it. Arbu his son, jumped up, and opened the door. Inspector Eagle walked in with a pissed off look on his face.

“Where is Sallu”, he asked in a very firm voice.

Arbu who was the brains of this family quickly tried to engage the Inspector., “ Would you like a drink, the party is over but the food & drinks are still out”

“N O O, no drinks, I want S A L L U”, the inspector barked.

“What is the problem” Arbu asked trying to be as accommodating as possible

“The Problem” Inspector Eagle responded with an incredulous look, “there is a bun in Ash’s oven, we think she is baking a sour dough bun, we think the starter came from Sallu Mian, and if that is the case, I promise I will nail his eye balls to the wall for this”.

“Now, now Inspector. Ash is a married women, it could be Lil C’s child. Why are you accusing Bhaijaan” Arbu tried to reason in vain.

This really got the inspector very upset, he yelled, “Yes that is possible, but from what we know about Lil C’s capabilities, it is highly unlikely. Therefore stop wasting my time and tell me where was Sallu during the IIFAA awards. Was he anywhere close to Ash ”

Arbu’s heart sank because he knew where Sallu was during IIFAA. He also knew that the word was on Dargah Streets that after a diet of Lil C, Ash was craving for Sallu these days. Nonetheless he tried to diffuse the situation, “ That does not mean anything. You have to wait till the child is born and then if he is a lousy to mediocre actor then it is without doubt a Bachchalan child. Even otherwise there are so many possibilities. If the child is an outstanding actor, the very best, the Don Jungli Billa Khan of actors, then it could be SRK’s child. If the child is tall & handsome, with a twitching nose and very light eyes, then it could be Hritik Roshan’s child. If he has “paan stains” then it could be Ajay Devgan’s. If he is very insecure and takes a million re-takes, then probably Amir Khan is the father. Why are you accusing Sallu Bhaijaan without any proof”

Some of what Arbu said sank into Inspector Eagle’s head, “What are you trying to tell me” he said, a little calmer now.

Arbu seized the opportunity and responded in a matter of fact manner, “Well, it is not as if she has lived a life of a saint, even Vivek Oberoi had his way with her. Come on, even Vivek Oberoi, given Ash’s history you just cannot walk in here and start accusing Bhaijaan without any proof. He has rights too”.

Inspector Eagle suddenly realized that he had jumped the gun, he backed off, “OK then, if we find that the child turns out to be such a lousy actor that he plays a Panju from Batinda as if he was a Doodhwala Bhaiya from Allahabad and simultaneously if the child turns out to be ugly, then I will remove Sallu from the list of suspects, but till then make sure he does not skip town without my permission. Sallu is always guilty until proven innocent.”

 

Gandhi, My Father Movie Review by Sweety

Gandhi My Father 

 “Gandhi se bada is duniya main kuch nahin hai” 

In the history of Hindi cinema it was for the first time that we came across such a heart-touching story based on father and son relationship. It defines the real characters of Gandhi’s own family, his principles, his beliefs and how hard he sticks to his words. Born in India and belonged to the Vaisya caste he got the appreciation more than he deserved. He had four sons named as Harilal, Manilal, Devadas and Ramadas, but why did he treated his elder son as his enemy? He did justice towards everything except harilal and his wife Kasturba. For the nation he’s father but for his own son he was a father he never had, that’s what the tagline of this movie is all about.  

Cast 

Akshaye Khanna- As Harilal Gandhi 

Bhumika Chawla- As Gulab Gandhi 

Shefali Chhaya – As Kasturba Gandhi 

Darshan Jariwala- As Mahatma Gandhi 

Producer- Anil Kapoor 

Director- Feroz Abbas Khan 

The Plot 

The movie begins with a hospital scene of Harilal in Bombay. He had arrived there in a serious condition and hospital staff tries to know about his family and relatives. On the other side Gandhi is living with his family and rest of the three sons. Kasturba tells his husband that Harilal wants to get married to Gulab (The one whom he himself had chosen for his elder son) but Gandhi denied his decision. Despite this denial of his father harilal marries Gulab and then he left for South Africa. Gandhi wanted harilal to be a great revolutionary and he forced him for the fight of nation without taking into account his interest towards studies. Harilal never took any interest in Gandhi’s activities and he wanted to be just like any other individual. Feeling disappointed and shattered he tried to come back to India by changing his name. He caught red handed by a Britisher and he hand over him to his father again. After this incidence Gandhi sends his son back to India. Harilal continues his studies and starts a business also. He achieved failure in both the fields and he blames his father for this. He becomes Mohammedan with the name of “Abdullah” in order to get peace and achievement. Being a song of Gandhi brought him in contact with frauds on which he invests some money for the share market. The company runs away and he again left with no hope of starting or being a part of any company. His mother comes to meet him and requests him not to involve his father in all this on the name of religion. Suddenly after having a conversation with a mother he again changes his religion and becomes a Hindu. Meanwhile his wife expires and he completely lost his way of life. He starts going to mistresses and due to the lack of money he became penniless. He left with no direction and aim in life. He makes his father responsible for all the bad things that he has faced. He holds true feelings for his mother. She was his true support and he shared everything that he could with her. She understood him really well and encouraged him at every stage of life. On her request he changed his religion that’s worth mention how truly he loved and respected her. At the end Gandhi had been shot dead by his own countryman and coreligionist and prior to that after 6 months harilal died in the Bombay hospital. 

   

Best Dialogues 

1)     By Gandhi- “Siksha lene ke liye school ki kya jarurat hai”  

2)     By Harilal- “Main padna chahta hun, Unhi ki tarah barrister banna chahata hun”. 

 3)     By Gandhi- “A man and trouble knows no Sundays”. 

 4)     By Gandhi- “Prison is a temple of learning”. 

 5)     By Harilal-“Meri patni mujhe chor ke jah rahi hai, aur mujhse kisi ne pucha bhi nahin, fainsla kaun karta hai”?  

6)     By Harilal- “Bahut der laga di bapu aapne meri awaaz sunne main”.  

7)     By Gandhi- “Ek ehsaan karoge, agar tumhe lagta hai tumhare bapu se koi galti huyi hai toh unhe maaf kar dena”. 

 8)     By Harilal- “Jab bhi fail hota hun gulab bapu ki jeet hoti hai”.  

9)     By Harilal- “Mera itehaas kaafi lamba hai aur bhogol gol hai”.   

 10)  By Harilal- “Yeh aapki jai jai kaar sirf meri ba ki vajah se hai”.  

 Performance 

 Darshan Jariwala– I guess it’s for the first time that I saw him in the movie. He did his job quite well. He has acted as a father of the nation and he deserves appreciation for that. He has been picturised as a moral man, a private citizen without wealth, property, official title, official post, academic distinction and artistic gift. He was infallible and paragon. As in comparison to first part he has performed well in the second half. 

  Kasturba Gandhi– she has done an excellent role. She has presented herself as the wife of Gandhi and mother of harilal and she has balanced this relationship quite well in the movie. She can be considered above an average actress because since the day I am watching her movies she’s been adopting new roles and she’s doing justice towards all of them. Be it a 15 Park Avenue or Waqt she has given her best performance in this movie. For the role of Kasturba Gandhi I believe she was the best choice.  

  Gulab Gandhi– She has done good role and her dresses were simple just like her character in the movie. She has been presented with a decent role, a caring and loving wife who supports her husband in crisis and stands with him irrespective of the fact that he was going on a wrong way to achieve success. That’s what I believe were the real women of 1940’s era.  

 Harilal Gandhi– He was the soul of the movie. Without him this movie would have never be completed and successful. He was brilliant and marvelous. In one scene where he had delivered “Main Gandhi ka nalayak beta hun, Main apne baap ke paise se fail hota hun, Jab main is jagah se gujarta hun aapko log mujhse kehte hai, Kahan Mahatma Gandhi aur kahan uska nalayak beta, Gandhi mohar mere mathe pe lagi di gayi hai”. It was well organized and he had delivered the dialogues in a magical way. His facial expressions were unmatchable. He deserves to get an award for this one. He has proved no matter after how many years you get the chance to prove yourself if you have the potentials you can do it now and forever. 

  My View As I’ve reading a book on “The life of Mahatma Gandhi” By Louis Fischer I would say whatever has been picturised in the movie is 100% correct. All these things had happened in Gandhi’s personal life. Why he always discouraged harilal towards studies? He was responsible for the failure of his son. Half of the life of harilal was spoiled by his father and half he spoiled himself. I believe today whatever you teach your children they would become this way only by tomorrow. Gandhi did so many things in a positive manner but after he was a human being he did negative things also. Why do people consider him as a father of nation? Was the only one who brought freedom to India? What about all other revolutionaries? I sometimes wonder Was it be reason then when he died prior to that just before few months we had got the freedom? According to my perspective consider him everything but he was not the only one who fought for our nation there were many other who was involved too. 

Mere bapu nahin rahe un kayro ne unhe goli maar di woh chale gaye.30 Jan, 1948!!!!

Exclusive Movie Review Chak De! India

By Hanoz 

So I just got back from one of better movies bollywood and YRF churned out this year. Dont be mistaken. By better i do not mean it wasn’t great. It’s just that bollywood movies in recent times have really disappointed me. Even the movies that have done well this year seem to be called a hit just because they were less inferior compared to the other or because they made more money. Chak De India, for me stands out from the rest so far this year. It’s not the best film ever that you’re going to watch. But you’re definitely up for a movie with a good dose of emotion, good laughs, and excitement that will give you goosebumps quite a lot of times, especially during the second half.

I entered the cinema during the credits. Missed the title but got in right after it, when the movie starts rolling out with a hockey match. Like all movies, SRK had another great entry sequence. Maybe not the most cheerful one out of all, but one of the best, starting his character development right then and there. Plus it’s another entry sequence for him which opens up at a sports field. The story is very easy to understand and there isn’t any moment during the film where the audience is left confused. Simply put, sticking to a simple plot, Chak De India is a sports underdog story where Kabir Khan (SRK) is tagged with the humility of a failed hockey player/traitor to India because of something that went wrong during his final match ever played. 7 years later he decides to take charge of coaching a team of the Womens Hockey Association in order to get them ready to win the world cup and earn back his honor.

Without revealing any more about the story, I’ll get straight to evaluating the performances and technical values. The movie had a very contemporary feel to it all through. During the first half, where the movie takes place in India, it creates a very gloomy yet truthful feel around the story where the audience is shown how ignored a sport like Hockey in India is, moreover when it’s a womens team playing the sport. Most of the first half is spent developing the characters, which is a good thing. Because once the movie hits the hockey fields, it does most of the times if not all the time give you an idea of whats to come from each of the team players. By the end of the first half characters are developed, training is done and the team is all ready and set to leave for the Worldcup which takes place in Australia. The second half of the movie is definitely the better one, no doubt about it. If the first half of the movie felt more like artistic cinema, the second half felt like a hardcore commercial drama. Giving the audiences what they expect to watch (lots of hockey), the movie during this half has many funny and suspenseful moments. Most of this half of the movie takes place on the hockey fields.

I’d like to make special mention of the cinematography. It really worked in favour of the film. The shots framed on the hockey fields were fantastic. Blending fast track shots with fast editing cuts really in a way gets the audience involvement a push. Kind of reminded me of Michael Bay style of directing . So full points to the editing and cinematography. Shimit Amin also deserves good points for directing. I’m glad that he made the film feel and look different compared to other recent YRF films where the story unfolds in the same monotonous way where the first half has cheesy comedy while the second half has forced emotion. Chak De India stayed away from that typical YRF story telling and Shimit Amin deserves credit for that. The songs were just alright for me. I’m glad that most of them were just used as a background piece during certain sequences of the film. Chak De India and Badal Pe Paon Hai are the only full length picturised songs. Infact even Chak De India is cut into several different parts through out the movie. I liked Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan, but it wouldn’t have worked if it had a whole 4 minutes picturized to it, so i’m glad it was presented in the way it did. Although there wasn’t a lot of comedy, Chak De had it’s good share and makes sure to make you laugh whenever it attempts to.

Out of the girls team, the one’s that stood out in order for me are Tanya Abrol (the punjabi girl called Balbir), Chitrashi Rawat, Sagarika Ghatke, Shilpa Shukla and Vidya Malvade. These 5 in particular stood out from the rest. But they were also given more screen time compared to the others. Tanya Abrol is a great actress and makes you laugh almost everytime she’s on screen. Loved her. Do I really need to comment on Shahrukh’s acting I’m starting to run out of praises for him with every movie. He does not disappoint you this time either. He watch Kabir Khan playing the role, not SRK. He looked and suited the role and added his usual extra little SRK touch to it. One scene in particular I’d like to mention where he gets weak in his knees towards the end was beautifully enacted. Anyone can try, but cannot be as great an actor like SRK..and i’m reminded that with every release of his.

There’s really a lot more that I can talk about.But this is all I’ll leave you with since nobody here has watched the movie yet. I can’t say what kind of reviews to expect from the media. Infact i don’t even want to take a guess. But the good news is you guys definitely won’t be disappointed. I can pretty surely guarantee that. As for those who do not like it, I do not know what they went expecting. You can’t help but enter the movie with a skeptical mind, but you as SRK fans will definitely come out more than happy, and the second half of the film lends a great hand to that. So if you’re still disappointed during the first half, wait for the second. I managed to stay away from all trailers this time around and i’m glad I did. There are a few things which could’ve made the film better but i’m a more than satisfied movie goer in this case so I’d rather ignore and not mention those points. I dont want to. For me, Chak De India was awesome and a little more than that…you will enjoy watching it!
Rating: 9/10

Ramu Gopal Verma ki Aag : Character Sketch

http://www.rgvkiaag.com/

Amitabh Bachchan as Babban Singh (originally Gabbar)

In the dark underbelly of Mumbai City a nihilistic new leader has risen to rule the fetid underworld. His name is Babban Singh. Cruel beyond imagination, psychotically violent and far more devious than any gangster the city has ever known.

He perceives other human beings as objects to amuse or occupy him with. And he likes to play with his victims. He does not engage in conversation with anyone. When he speaks, he does so to voice his own thoughts.

When Babban is angry, his eyes take on a glazed look. He seems to be looking at you as you speak, but the focus of his gaze rests in the middle distance. It’s as if he’s looking right through you. He loves people who challenge him, as then he can enjoy killing them more.

Ajay Devgan as Heero, and Prashant Raj as Raj (originally Veeru and Jai)

Hirendra Chavan alias Heero (Ajay Devgan) and Raj Ranade (Prashant Raj) are two young men from Latur, who arrive in the megapolis of Mumbai with big-sized dreams of buying out the city. It’s another matter that Heero and Raj are jobless and don’t have enough money even to buy a decent meal. Childhood friends, their loyalty is absolute, with the younger Raj looking up to the elder Heero.

Mohanlal as Narsimha (originally Thakur)

Narsimha’s eyes retain composure at all times. Dark circles collected over sleepless nights betray the fact he is a man tormented by his own past.

Nobody has ever seen Babban Singh and if they did, they didn’t survive to tell the tale. But one man believed in his existence. And that is inspector Narsimha, an encounter specialist. His thoughts have single point of focus: Babban.

Sushmita Sen as Durga Devi (originally Radha)

Durga is a trained nurse. Her life blossomed when love happened. But then, tragedy struck. Stoic, dignified, silent, her demeanor hid an inner strength that at times raised itself beyond what one would expect from a woman.

Nisha Kothari as Ghungroo (originally Basanti)

Ghungroo drives a ‘rickshaw’ named ‘Laila’. Laila is her best friend and confidante. Ghungroo is Mumbai city’s only woman rickshaw driver. She knows all the shortcuts in Mumbai city. She talks switching between Marathi, Hindi and English. She’d like you to believe she’s a man. But deep inside, she is all woman.

As the movie’s story goes, Heero and Raj arrive in Mumbai and find work with Shambhul Seth, a criminal with heavy underworld connections and also high on the police scanner.

In his pursuit of Shambhul, Inspector Narsimha comes into contact with Heero and Raj. On meeting them, he realizes that these were no hardened criminals. Small time hoodlums, perhaps, but deep inside their values were still intact.

In a deadly encounter with Shambhul Seth, Heero and Raj display their bravery and fearlessness to Narsimha. But the two are also arrested and sent to jail for a while.

Much later, when Inspector Narsimha needs help in his hunt for Babban Singh, his brief impression of Heero and Raj returns to him. He decides to enlist the help of Heeru and Raj.

How Heeru and Raj nab Babban Singh forms the crux of the story

Educated Muslims are the nicest people: SRK

Rajeev Masand / CNN-IBN

Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is all set to break some stereotypes with his role of a patriotic Muslim hockey coach in the film Chak De India which hits theatres this Friday. Here’s more from the King Khan himself.

Rajeev Masand: What was your real reason for doing this film? Was it the fact that it was a great opportunity to shed light on a sport or was it a great story to tell, or was it a little of both?

Shah Rukh Khan: Neither of the two. Actually I am not so socially conscious neither do I understand stories. Very simply put is that I wanted to play some hockey after 20 years.

I keep telling my producer and director that I hope after the film is released there are five-six people who say ‘oh, I haven’t played hockey for a long time man!’ Or a father or a mother picks up a hockey stick and tells their children go play the game. So, if people in India start doing that then it is good enough for me.

Rajeev Masand: On one level Chak De India is a patriotic film isn’t it? And you play a Muslim coach of the national women’s hockey team. Is that symbolic and done to destroy stereotypes?

Shah Rukh Khan: Actually, you can say it in one line that it is a destruction of stereotype – it ’s a film about India, headed by a Muslim, playing a game called hockey with a team of women. So, it completely breaks all stereotypes.

I believe in the educated Islamic sect, I belong to it and educated Muslim people are the nicest people in the world. That is my religion and I would like to propagate that through my film without shoving it down your throat. I am not shoving my religion down your throat. I am trying to say that the ideology of an educated Muslim is what my ideology is – that you believe in humanity.

Movie Review: GANDHI MY FATHER by FENIL SETA

There are many movies made on the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi but they have all portrayed how Gandhi helped our nation in achieving independence. Here comes a movie, Gandhi My Father, which throws light on the personal life of Gandhiji and the relationship he shared with his son, Harilal.

The story of the movie: The movie highlights how Mahatma Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala), when, was struggling for the rights of the people in South Africa and India, could not give a true father’s love to his eldest son Harilal (Akshaye Khanna) though he was immensely fond of him. The story then progresses and shows how bitter the relationship was between the father and the son.

Gandhi My Father succeeds the most because it throws light on the story many are not familiar with. But what makes it watchable and likeable is the unique and distinct direction by Feroz Abbas Khan. Though it’s his first film, he has directed the movie in such a way making it absorbing and intense. Feroz Abbas Khan has intensely worked in this film, which is evident. Each scene in the movie is unique and some are masterpieces.

There are several scenes, which deserve mention. Gandhiji giving the England scholarship to his nephew Chaganlal and later to Sorabji and not to his own son Harilal is a marvelous scene. Then the scene where the whole crowd is shouting ‘Mahatma Gandhi Zindabad’ and Harilal alone shouts ‘Ba Kasturba Zindabad’, which is the finest scene in the movie. Another scene, Gandhiji admitting that two persons whom he cannot convince is his ‘Kathiawadi Dost’ Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his own son Harilal Gandhi.

There are lots of B/W video clips of that period (Freedom Struggle) shown in the movie. The director has shot some scenes of the movie in B/W and merged them with those video clips, because of which it seems that the B/W scenes of the movie are a part of B/W video clips shot in those period. That, in my opinion, is a unique feature of this movie, which has not been experimented by any other film!

The film rests on the outstanding, incomparable and power-packed performance of Akshaye Khanna and Darshan Jariwala. Both have gone into the skin of their character and performed as per their character demanded. Akshaye Khanna has performed his part so nicely that his tragic situation in the later part of the movie makes one moist-eyed. He also changed his hairstyle and his style of beard in the movie but not once do you think that he is doing any overacting. He looked completely real. His best scene in the movie-The Hospital ward boy asking him his father’s name and he says ‘Barrister Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’. This was a stunning scene and it shows how terrific an actor Akshaye Khanna is. It’s really great that Akshaye choose such an offbeat role. Anil Kapoor said it right-“Akshaye Khanna was made for this role!”

Darshan Jariwala, on the other hand, does an equally good job. What is fantastic is that as the years in the movie progressed, his acting and also his look, hairstyle and style of speaking changed considerably. Of all the actors who have played the role of Gandhiji in films, Darshan Jariwala ranks among the finest. This is a role he should be proud of. Good work, Mr Jariwala!

The other actors in the movie have also done a good job. Shefali Shah as Kasturba Gandhi also looks real and gives a fantastic performance. Her acting got better as the movie raced forward. Bhoomika Chawla (as Gulab Gandhi, Harilal’s wife) does a good job. Others also do a very good job.

David Macdonald’s cinematography was brilliant and it made the movie look like a period film. Sreekar Prasad who has edited several period films like Guru, Mangal Pandey, Asoka etc does a good job as the editor. Nitin Desai’s art direction was perfect for such a period movie. He does a very good job in the scenes of the railway station and the scenes shot inside the train compartment. Resul Pookutty’s sound design was excellent.

Feroz Abbas Khan’s direction was first rate. Though it was his first movie (he has made a drama before on the same story), he does such a great job that it’s difficult to believe that the movie is made by a first timer. He uses a distinct and unique direction, making the movie as one of the finest qualitative film of the year! He also does a great job in writing the screenplay.

Special credit should also go the producer and the publicity designers. The producer Anil Kapoor should be applauded for choosing such a topic for his first movie as a producer. The publicity designers (Nandas and HR Enterprises) made such a good trailer for the movie that it had made most curious about the movie. Good Job!!

Some of the best scenes in the movie:
1. The first scene of the movie (Harilal admitted in the hospital on June 18, 1948)
2. Akshaye Khanna’s wedding
3. The scene where Harilal tells his father that he wants to go back to India
4. The scene where Gandhiji returns back to India
5. The scene where Harilal, in front of the entire ‘mohalla’, says ‘Mein Gandhiji ka nalayak beta hoon’
6. The death of Gulab Gandhi and Kasturba
7. The scene where Harilal converts into Islam and later turns back to a Hindu
8. The scene where India gets independence
9. The scene where Harilal goes to attend Gandhiji’s funeral in Delhi on Jan 31, 1948
10.The last scene of the movie (excellent!)

On the whole, Gandhi My Father is recommended to all those who want to know the real story of Gandhiji and his son Harilal. It has award-winning performances, mind blowing direction, which makes this movie one of the most qualitative films of the year. It should be watched by each and every moviegoer. Don’t Miss It!

My rating- * * * * out of 5

I saw this movie yesterday, i.e. August 8, 2007. 65 years ago, on this very day, Gandhiji had passed the Quit India resolution!