The Mahatma's prodigal son

Complex. Stunning. Rutted. Heartbreaking. Agonizing.

It was the biggest irony I witnessed- The Mahatma who mended a million hearts, failed hopelessly, to mend his own son's ways. When I saw Gandhi My father yesterday, my first impressions were like most others- I abhorred Hari Lal - Gandhi's eldest son(Akshaye Khanna), for what he was. To me he was the spineless, errant man, who could never live up to be Gandhi's son. But look close and I wonder how it really must be like, to be the son of the great Mahatma. What it must be like to live all your life with expectations, to be righteous, to be principled, to be a social servant, to be Gandhi's son. It must be a heavy weight to carry.

The film journeys between South Africa and India where we see Gandhi's great exploits against apartheid and then his struggle for freedom in India. In all this, his life is juxtaposed against that of Hari Lal. Hari Lal couldn't come to terms with his own father's sense of righteousness - that led him to give away a scholarship to study in London to his brother's son, instead of Harilal. Gandhi's statement to Kasturba as a retaliation to her question on why he chose to give away the scholarship to someone else instead of his own son - 'Kastoor, hum samaaj sevak hain. Hum sirf samaaj ko de sakte hain, unse kuch le nahin sakte', only goes to show, Gandhi's deep sense of commitment to the society and nation, which went beyond his own family, at the cost of his own son.

Hari Lal's incorrigible ways deeply pained his parents and it is truly agonizing to see both - Hari Lal's lack of obligation to live up to his father's ideals, and Gandhi and Kasturba's helplessness and ignominy owing to their son's lackadaisical and blasphemous behavior. It is heartrending to hear Hari Lal say -'main gandhi ka nalayak beta hoon'. If Hari Lal was the son of an ordinary man, am sure life would have been a lot different. Hari Lal's irreverent attitude led him to convert to Islam and as a repartation he converted back to Hinduism.

In all this Gandhi continued his struggle, and always forgave his son. Kasturba continued to crave for her son and even goes to the extent of begging him to please let them live in peace in their last days. In Gandhi's last days, we even see him yearning to see Hari Lal, and die in his son's arms. But it was too late.

Hari Lal does all he can to bring shame to the family. He boozes, he had bad debts, roams around the streets like a beggar, without a care for his wife (Bhoomika Chawla) and his four children.

He hears of Bapu's assassination over the radio and like million others, attempts to catch a glimpse of the slain Mahatma, but is pushed and stamped.

What an irony. Couldn't even get to light his own father's funeral pyre, he was the father of the Nation, after all. His tears meant nothing, when the nation was weeping for their Bapu.

we get to see some stellar performances by Darshan jariwala (Gandhiji), Shefali Shah (Kasturba), Bhoomika Chawla (Gulab, Hari Lal's wife) and Akshaye Khanna himself as Hari Lal. The film could have been a little more researched, especially since it was an epic task of making a film on the Mahatma. Feroz Abbaz Khan is a genius and Anil Kapoor productions a complete surprise!

A musssssssssssssst watch I say!