Rajkumar Santoshi is back with another film that explores historical figures: Gandhi Godse — Ek Yudh. It comes 21 years after The Legend of Bhagat Singh became a big hit. But unlike the critically acclaimed 2002 film, this movie remains underwhelming till the very end.
Gandhi Godse — Ek Yudh has an interesting premise: What if M.K. Gandhi had survived the assassination attempt by Nathuram Godse? The 110-minute film weaves a fictional narrative in which Gandhi did not die on 30 January 1948, and the incident leads up to an ideological tussle between him and Godse.
Gandhi Godse — Ek Yudh shows the Father of the Nation (played by Deepak Antani), faithful to his philosophy, forgiving Godse (Chinmay Mandlekar) almost instantly. He advises Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, and J.B. Kripalani to dissolve the Congress. The leaders dismiss the proposal, and Gandhi walks out. While the film has a fictitious setting, it takes inspiration from real-life incidents such as the launch of the Gram Swaraj scheme and touches upon untouchability and caste discrimination.
But it barely soars above half-baked and bland storytelling.
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Mediocrity at its best
In the first confrontation between Gandhi and Godse in the film, the latter says, “Tum Hindus ke dushman ho…Hindu rashtra bachaane ke liye tumhe maarna chahta hoon (You are the Hindus’ enemy..I want to kill you to save Hindu rashtra)”. While Santoshi portrays the larger sentiment of a section of Indians today, he also takes constant digs at the Congress party. The film was meant to be an unbiased portrayal of the Gandhi-Godse dynamic, but ends up oversimplifying political ideologies.
Gandhi Godse — Ek Yudh is mediocre at best. At several junctures, the film offers a glimpse into uncharted territories — addressing Godse’s Islamophobia or Gandhi’s celibacy but rarely exploring the idea in its entirety. After a quick turn of events, Gandhi and Godse end up in the same prison, and in the end, each has learnt a thing or two from the other, insinuating a change of heart. If only life was that simple.
The music is composed by the legendary A.R. Rahman, but it is safe to say that the songs of Gandhi Godse will not be remembered among his finest work.
Just getting the job done
Antani possesses an uncanny resemblance to Gandhi and has portrayed him in over 20 short films, TV serials, 190 stage plays, and many documentaries. While he embodies the spirit of Gandhi with utmost ease, Mandlekar opts for a perpetual loud pitch to essay Godse. Other supporting cast includes familiar faces such as Pawan Chopra (Jawaharlal Nehru) and Arif Zakaria (J. B. Kripalani). There is nothing much for them to do besides the bare minimum, and the actors get the job done.
All in all, Gandhi Godse — Ek Yudh is merely an interpretation of an interesting premise that majorly seems like a missed opportunity.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)