Gandhi (1982)

Biography of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

John Briley

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox

Top 250 #187 | Won 8 Oscars. Another 30 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Kingsley	...	Mahatma Gandhi
Candice Bergen	...	Margaret Bourke-White
Edward Fox	...	General Dyer
John Gielgud	...	Lord Irwin
Trevor Howard	...	Judge Broomfield
John Mills	...	The Viceroy
Martin Sheen	...	Walker
Ian Charleson	...	Charlie Andrews
Athol Fugard	...	General Smuts
Günther Maria Halmer	...	Herman Kallenbach (as Gunter Maria Halmer)
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Sardar Patel
Geraldine James	...	Mirabehn
Alyque Padamsee	...	Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Amrish Puri	...	Khan
Roshan Seth	...	Pandit Nehru

Storyline

In 1893, Gandhi is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian and traveling in a first class compartment. Gandhi realizes that the laws are biased against Indians and decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. After numerous arrests and the unwanted attention of the world, the government finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of South Africa. After this victory, Gandhi is invited back to India, where he is now considered something of a national hero. He is urged to take up the fight for India's independence from the British Empire. Gandhi agrees, and mounts a non-violent non-cooperation campaign of unprecedented scale, coordinating millions of Indians nationwide. There are some setbacks, such as violence against the protesters and Gandhi's occasional imprisonment. Nevertheless, the campaign generates great attention, and Britain faces intense public pressure. Too weak from World ...

---

Plot Keywords:

india | indian | british | muslim | pakistan | 

---

Taglines:

A WORLD EVENT It took one remarkable man to defeat the British Empire and free a nation of 350 million people. His goal was freedom for India. His strategy was peace. His weapon was his humanity.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK India

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Richard Attenborough's Film: Gandhi

Filming Locations:

Aga Khan Palace, Nagar Rd, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 12,044,631 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Film Investors, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Goldcrest Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

191 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) (as Dolby Stereo) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was Michael Attenborough, Richard Attenborough's son, who recommended Ben Kingsley to his father.

---

Goofs

The standing lamp on the right of the screen next to the Judge Broomfield moved to the right when the Judge says "nevertheless, it is my duty...".

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Hindu: He will be saying prayers in the garden. Just follow the others.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Daybreakers/Leap Year/Youth in Revolt (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"God Save the King!"
(1744) (uncredited)
Music attributed to Henry Carey
Sung by Ben Kingsley
Reprised when India achieves independence

User Reviews

Better than you'd think...

Thinking back, I suppose I have now seen many (sometimes good) films that follow the same recipe: One man makes a difference.

But this film is an exception in so many ways:

1) It was made in 1982, so it came before many of them.

2) It has amazingly well-displayed historical significance.

3) Great performances in a near-flawless, frank scrpit.

This film does not bother the viewer with an opening montage of scenes of the main character at various ages ("Dragon", I'm looking at you). This is an amazing film that anyone of any religion, race, or nationality can and should appreciate. With its subtle relevance to today's situations in that part of the world, this is a history buff must-see.

Watch this film and see great performances (an obvious oscar went to Ben Kingsly), excellent cinematography, and a wonderful inspiring story, whose essence soars well above the corny, do-gooder mentality of other pitiful efforts of "bio-pics".

10/10