By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
August
07,
2007
Father
to
the
nation,
but
not
to
his
own
son.
Great
theme.
Huge
historic
resonances
as
the
father
and
son
happen
to
be
Mahatma
Gandhi
and
his
little-known
son
Harilal.
What
interesting
possibilities
of
drama
open
up
before
our
eyes
as
we
think
of
the
father
and
son
locked
in
a
mutual
admonition
society
against
the
backdrop
of
a
demanding
politically
anguished
nation.
Gandhi
My
Father
fails
to
convey
the
jumbo-sized
canvas
of
the
fight
that
the
Father
Of
The
Nation
fought
within
and
outside
his
home.
One
reason
for
this
inadequacy
is
the
director
Feroz
Abbas
Khan's
own
creative
battle.
Simply
put,
you
can
take
the
play
out
of
the
playwright.
But
you
can't
make
him
put
the
staginess
of
the
drama
behind
him
when
he
takes
the
intimate
drama
to
the
screen.
We've
seen
this
happen
earlier
with
stage
directors
who
turn
to
the
large
screen.
Bob
Fosse
brought
the
Broadway
musical
to
Hollywood.
But
in
his
films
the
element
of
choreographed
creativity
remained
predominant.
For
Feroz
Abbas
Khan
the
sword
of
staginess
hangs
on
his
film
debut
in
glistening
glory,
imbuing
the
on-screen
story
with
an
intimacy
that
brings
the
characters
too
close
to
the
audience
for
comfort.
Though
there
isn't
enough
'cinema'
in
this
stage
adaptation
the
sincerity
and
integrity
of
the
entire
crew
bolsters
the
production
and
carries
it
smoothly
to
the
finishing
line.
The
cinematography
(David
MacDonald),
production
design
(Nitin
Desai),
editing
(Sreekar
Prasad)
and
costumes
(Sujata
Sharma)
are
designed
to
take
the
product
beyond
the
boundary
of
a
specific
excellence.
They
deliver.
What
brings
the
drama
and
the
dormant
energy
within
the
characters
to
a
boiling
point
without
brimming
over
are
the
performances.
Darshan
Jariwala
is
poignant
and
body-perfect
in
bringing
the
Mahatma
to
life.
How
does
he
compare
with
other
celluloid
Gandhis?
That's
as
silly
as
asking
how
Attenborough's
Gandhi
compares
with
Kamal
Haasan's
Hey
Ram
Gandhi
My
Father
moves
at
its
mellowed-down
volition,
often
at
the
expense
of
the
drama.
The
father-son
conflict
could
and
perhaps
should
have
been
far
more
intense
and
dramatic.
The
controlled
drama
is
perfectly
modulated
by
Akshaye
Khanna
who
as
Harilal
is
the
portrait
of
filial
angst,
more
sinned
against
than
sin,
more
stranger
to
his
father
than
a
son,
more
wanting
to
be
loved
than
loved.
Khanna
gets
rid
of
some
of
his
dramatic
props(clenched
jaw,
etc)
to
sink
into
character.
As
for
Shefali
Shah
as
Kasturba
,
she
makes
the
wispy
sepia-toned
world
of
home
and
politics
come
together
in
a
sweep
of
maternal
affections.
Her
warm
and
sensitive
performance
furnishes
this
rather-dry
film
with
the
milk
of
human
kindness.
The
quality
of
human
kindness
remains
largely
untapped
in
the
narration.
…What
Gandhi
My
Father
needed
was
a
tight
jadoo
ki
jhappi
(as
that
wacky
Gandhian
Munnabhai
calls
it).
Gandhi
My
Father
holds
back
the
tears
and
fears
of
a
son
who
wants
to
be
hugged
by
his
father
who's
busy
embracing
the
nation.
The
restrain
is
remarkable
for
going
against
the
requirements
of
the
story.
But
it
isn't
a
merit
in
a
movie
that
needed
all
its
emotional
components
to
move
in
the
same
direction
as
its
underlining
inter-relationships.