Gandhi Jayanti: 12 Actors Who Played Mahatma Gandhi On Screen
Posted On: 30 Sep 2023 | Last Updated : 22 Mar 2024 | Views : 1.0k
October 2 is always marked as Gandhi Jayanti the birth anniversary of our father of the nation - Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most fascinating political figures in Indian history who has been a subject of admiration and interrogation in Indian cinema across languages and regions. Gandhi has not just evolved as a thought or ideology but also as a brand that has been brought on screen by many of our filmmakers to bask in the glory many times. Many actors have portrayed the role of Mahatma Gandhi showcasing various aspects of his life in a number of films over the years. As the nation remembers Bapu today on his birth anniversary on the special occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, let’s take a look at the list of actors who essayed the role of Gandhi on screen effortlessly:
1. Ben Kingsley in Gandhi (1982)
English actor Ben Kingsley was one of the best actors who played Gandhi on screen. Richard Attenborough’s 1982 Oscar-winning film Gandhi is considered one of the finest films to portray the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi and his journey from South Africa to India where he became a mass leader helming the non-violent, non-cooperative independence movement against the British Empire. The role fetched Ben Kingsley the Best Actor Academy Award that year. This easily was one of the most memorable portrayals of Gandhi ever in cinema, worldwide.
2. Anu Kapoor in Sardar (1993)
Anu Kapoor’s name figures among the first Bollywood actors who played Mahatma Gandhi's role in movies. The veteran actor played the character of Mahatma Gandhi with aplomb in director Ketan Mehta’s National Award-winning film Sardar in 1993 which was a biopic on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that was played by Paresh Rawal. The film highlighted some of the issues between Gandhi and Sardar Patel which differed before and after India’s partition.
3. Rajit Kapur in The Making of the Mahatma (1996)
Director Shyam Benegal’s The Making of the Mahatma was based on Fatima Meer's book, 'The Apprenticeship of a Mahatma' where Rajit Kapur played the central role of Mahatma Gandhi. The film narrated Mahatma Gandhi’s 21 momentous years in South Africa that went on to shape him as a world leader who would one day inspire the likes of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Junior. Rajit Kapur was honoured with the National Award for Best Actor for his brilliant portrayal of Gandhiji while the film also won the National Award for Best Feature Film in English.
4. Naseeruddin Shah in Hey Ram (2000)
Joining the list of top Bollywood actors who played Mahatma Gandhi on screen is none other than actor Naseeruddin Shah in Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram in 2000. Hey Ram was based on India’s partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. Though the movie’s central character is Saketh Ram (played by Kamal Haasan) who blames Gandhiji for his wife’s murder and plans to assassinate him. Naseeruddin Shah’s portrayal of Gandhiji in Hey Ram was praised for his exceptional performance. The film’s other star cast included Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Vasundhara Das and Hema Malini.
5. Mohan Gokhale in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000)
Jabbar Patel's Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was a biopic drama based on the life of Indian social reformer, jurist, and academic-politician, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The film narrated the life and times of the great leader who was known for his contributions towards the downtrodden and oppressed classes in India and for shaping the Constitution of independent India. The film starred Mammootty in the title role while Mohan Gokhale played the role of Mahatma Gandhi. The film went on to win the National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in English, Best Actor (Mammootty), and Best Art Direction (Nitin Chandrakant Desai) in 1999.
6. Surendra Rajan in The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
Another actor who brilliantly portrayed Mahatma Gandhi on screen was Surendra Rajan in director Rajkumar Santoshi’s biographical period film The Legend of Bhagat Singh. The film narrated the story of Bhagat Singh, the young revolutionary freedom fighter who fought for India’s independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. It featured Ajay Devgn in the titular character along with Sushant Singh, D. Santosh. Akhilendra Mishra, Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal, and Amrita Rao.
7. Dilip Prabhavalkar in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
Who can forget Dilip Prabhavalkar, one of the finest Bollywood Actors who played Mahatma Gandhi on screen in Rajkumar Hirani’s directorial Lage Raho Munna Bhai? Dilip Prabhavalkar played Gandhi the way it should have been and won over the hearts of every moviegoer. Watching Gandhiji reform the ruffian goon Munna Bhai (played by Sanjay Dutt) by teaching him ‘Gandhigiri’ of truth, honesty, humanism, and non-violence, was nothing short of brilliance. The film won four National Film Awards.
8. Darshan Jariwala in Gandhi, My Father (2007)
Darshan Jariwala features among the top 10 actors who have played Gandhiji on screen in director Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi, My Father. The movie was based on the biography of Mahatma Gandhi’s son Harilal Gandhi, titled ‘Harilal Gandhi: A Life’ by Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal. The film explored the troubled relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and his son Harilal Gandhi whose whereabouts weren’t known for a long time. Besides Darshan Jariwala playing the role of Mahatma Gandhi, it also featured Akshaye Khanna as Harilal and Bhumika Chawla as his wife.
9. Avijit Dutt in Gandhi to Hitler (2011)
Another memorable portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi on screen was that of Avijit Dutt in director Rakesh Ranjan Kumar’s Gandhi to Hitler. Though Raghubir Yadav played Adolf Hitler in the film but the story revolved around the period of the end of World War 2 showcasing how he reportedly had assisted India in its freedom struggle against the British, while Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wrote to him to end violence.
10. Deepak Antani in Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh (2023) / Mujib: The Making of Nation (2023)
Rajkumar Santoshi’s Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh had Deepak Antani playing the role of Mahatma Gandhi while Chinmay Mandlekar played Nathuram Godse who had assassinated the former in 1948. The film deals with a fictional situation in which Mahatma Gandhi survives his assassination and thereafter meets Nathuram Godse in prison, the conversation leads to a fiery debate between the two.
The other film in which Deepak Antani played Mahatma Gandhi was Shyam Benegal's Mujib: The Making of Nation (2023) which was a biopic based on the life and times of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
11. Rajesh Khera in Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (2024)
Actor Rajesh Khera is the latest entrant to the list of Bollywood actors who played Mahatma Gandhi on-screen. Rajesh Khera’s portrayal of Gandhiji in Randeep Hooda starrer Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, a biopic on slain freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, was rather noteworthy. The confrontation of differences in ideologies between Savarkar and Gandhiji served as one of the highlights of the film’s narration.
12. Uday Chandra in Ae Watan Mere Watan (2024)
Veteran actor Uday Chandra who has featured in movies like Baton Baton Mein, Hum Paanch, Mr. India, Parinda, and Mission Kashmir, has also reprised the role of Mahatma Gandhi in Kannan Iyer’s Sara Ali Khan - starrer, Ae Watan Mere Watan. Ae Watan Mere Watan was a period drama set during India’s ‘Quit India Movement’ of 1942 when Mahatma Gandhi coined the slogan ‘Do or Die’. Uday Chandra as Mahatma Gandhi had a minuscule role but an important one because Bapu was the one who revolutionized the slogan of ‘Karo Ya Maro’ to all fellow Indians.
