By:
Upala
KBR,
Mid-Day
Thursday,
August
02,
2007
Producer
Anil
Kapoor's
Gandhi
-
My
Father
had
a
glittering
premiere
for
charity
on
July
29
at
the
Nu
Metro
theatre
in
Monte
Casino,
Johannesburg,
attended
by
President
Thabo
Mbeki,
Nelson
Mandela
and
other
South
African
cabinet
ministers.
Says
Kapoor,
who
is
still
in
the
South
African
city,
"The
charity
show
got
a
phenomenal
response.
We
collected
1.8
million
Rands
(approx
Rs
1
crore),
which
will
go
to
the
Mbeki
Foundation
and
the
Mandela
Charity."
The
actor
says
that
the
response
to
the
film
is
beyond
what
he
imagined.
"After
the
premiere,
Nelson
Mandela
invited
the
cast
and
crew
to
his
home
and
delivered
a
special
message
in
favour
of
the
film
and
the
struggles
it
portrays.
President
Mbeki
wants
to
screen
Gandhi
-
My
Father
for
people
in
the
Ivory
Coast
as
there
is
a
civil
war
going
on.
He
says
the
two
countries
can
come
together
if
they
watch
the
film," says
Anil.
Anil
says
he
wanted
to
hold
the
premiere
in
Johannesburg
because
of
its
association
with
Gandhi
and
Mandela's
struggle
for
freedom
from
apartheid.
He
says,
"I
got
tremendous
support
from
the
South
African
government.
We
got
to
shoot
in
places
like
Pretoria
town
square
and
the
courts,
where
many
Hollywood
films
have
been
refused
permission.
My
journey
as
a
producer
has
been
humbling.
Everybody
has
stood
by
me,
from
my
cast,
to
the
director,
technicians
and
family.
It's
been
a
fantastic
experience."