New Delhi: When actor Devika Rani invited Jawaharlal Nehru to a film seminar in 1955, the country’s first prime minister spoke about how the Indian film industry lacked the resources available to the Western film industries, and yet continued to progress both technically and artistically.
“Obviously, the resources in India are much smaller than the resources of the rich countries of the Western world. Nevertheless, they have made progress, technical progress. So, all that goes to their credit and one must acknowledge it,” Nehru said.
Today, on his 62nd birth anniversary, we look back at how Nehru has been portrayed in Indian cinema, from its inception to OTT platforms.
Here are some television series and films that adapted Jawaharlal Nehru’s literary works or portrayed his character on screen.
1. The Discovery of India
In 1988, Shyam Benegal adapted Nehru’s The Discovery of India (1946) into the television series Bharat Ek Khoj, which aired on Doordarshan.
British-Indian actor Roshan Seth portrayed Nehru, with Om Puri narrating the series. The series was not a typical television drama, it blended documentary-style storytelling with an episodic narrative, giving visual life to Nehru’s understanding of India’s past, present and future.
2. Gandhi
In the Oscar-winning film, Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough, Roshan Seth once again played Nehru alongside Ben Kingsley’s Gandhi.
The film focuses on Gandhi’s journey from a lawyer in South Africa to fighting for India’s freedom through non-violence. Seth’s performance was also nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
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3. Sardar
Directed by Ketan Mehta, the 1993 film Sardar centred around the life and times of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Paresh Rawal played the titular character, Benjamin Gilani portrayed Nehru, with Annu Kapoor as Gandhi. The movie highlights the political tension between Vallabhbhai and Nehru and features intense debates between the two.
4. The Legend of Bhagat Singh
Saurabh Dubey played Nehru in Rajkumar Santoshi’s The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), a film based on the life of Bhagat Singh, played by Ajay Devgan. Sushant Singh played Sukhdev, and Akhilendra Mishra portrayed Chandrashekhar Azad. The film also sheds light on Nehru’s view of the way Bhagat Singh and his allies were fighting the British.
5. Freedom at Midnight
The most recent adaptation of Nehru came with SonyLiv’s Freedom at Midnight (2024), directed by Nikkhil Advani, where Sidhant Gupta portrayed the Indian stalwart. The series documents several political developments surrounding India’s independence, from Nehru’s rise as prime minister to his views on the partition of India and Pakistan.
Nehru, in his 1955 speech, had remarked that cinema possessed a greater influence over the Indian masses than any other form of media.
“The world of the films, of the cinema. It is one of the biggest things in the modern world; let us remember that. There are many things which influence people — books, newspapers, so many other things. Well, I think it is correct to say that the influence in India of the films is greater than the influence of newspapers and books all combined. I am not at the moment talking about the quality of the influence,” he said.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)