'To play Gandhi, you have to embody his spirit'

On Gandhi Jayanti, we look back at some memorable on-screen portrayals of the Mahatma. For many actors, it wasn't just about mastering Gandhi's accent or mannerisms, but imbibing his essence through a better understanding of his philosophy, inner struggles and 'how he motivated an entire nation'

- Shruti Paniker, Abhimanyu Mishra and Itishree Mishra

ANNU KAPOOR 

IN KETAN MEHTA’S

SARDAR (1993) 

In Annu Kapoor’s own words, a “small-time comedian” being offered the role of Mahatma Gandhi was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He was quoted saying in an interview, “I concentrated on his postures, gestures and walk, but above all, his speech, language and diction, with the Gujarati accent. His pronunciation of ‘sa’ as ‘sha’ would have looked caricaturish, so I worked very hard to produce the sound in between ‘sha’ and ‘sa’.”

BEN KINGSLEY

IN RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH’S

GANDHI (1982)

Ben Kingsley’s name is among the first ones to come to mind when you think of the silver screen portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi. The 1982 film continues to be one of Kingsley’s much-lauded works. After all, the actor claims it was his “golden door to the film industry”. 

In an interview, Kingsley revealed that “it was impossible to recreate Gandhi on the big screen. I watched five hours of newsreel footage in one sitting, decided that it was impossible, left the cinema and didn’t look at any more footage ever again.” “But Attenborough got me through it,” he said, in a video for an international publication.

RAJIT KAPUR