Exactly 77 years after he was assassinated, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is still a rock star. A politician’s album must include a photo standing before a Gandhi statue, artists itch to sketch him, a glimpse of his signature specs is enough to identify him and every actor aspires to play Gandhi in his career.
Five years after Pratik Gandhi and Hansal Mehta kept OTT audiences rivetted with Scam, the Harshad Mehta story, retelling the “human side” of M.K. Gandhi in a web series spread over three leisurely seasons, will be the big-ticket item of 2025. “It will be the biggest for all of us,” stated Pratik who almost “jumped out of my seat” when Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment made him the offer. “That too with Hansal Sir. What else could I possibly ask for?” he exulted. Life has been a continuous celebration since then, especially with wife and consummate actress Bhamini Oza joining him to play Kasturba.
Apart from sharing the same surname, Pratik has been practically living with Gandhi, performing one brief chapter from the iconic Indian’s life as a two-hour monologue on stage for the last 10 years. In Gujarati, Hindi and English, even performing Mohan Ka Masala in all three languages on the same day at Prithvi Theatre, a feat recorded in the Limca Book of Records.
It is another record that there is an array of actors who have played Gandhi on screen. Krishna Pandit Bhanji or Sir Ben Kingsley in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), Rajit Kapur in The Making of the Mahatma (1996), Naseeruddin Shah in Hey Ram (2000), Dilip Prabhavalkar in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Darshan Jariwala in Gandhi My Father (2007), Annu Kapoor in the TV series Pradhanmantri (2013), Chirag Vohra in Freedom At Midnight (2024) and Pratik, the new addition.
Who makes the best Gandhi?
Oscar-winning Ben Kingsley is on a pedestal by himself.
“To be mentioned alongside such big names is itself enough to make me ecstatic,” replied Pratik before naming Chirag Vohra. “Besides being a phenomenal actor, Chirag’s face, he looks like Gandhi. So I’d say, Chirag is the closest to Gandhi.” Chirag himself was modest, accepting that people loved his performance in Freedom At Midnight.
“All the names who have played Gandhi are such senior actors...” Chirag explained. “From childhood, the first impression that’s been embedded in our minds is of Ben Kingsley and subconsciously, comparisons are drawn. But after my journey in theatre and the performing arts, I used the real footage of Gandhiji that’s in the public domain, as a reference point for my performance.”
Jariwala, who made an imposing Gandhi in Feroz Abbas Khan’s Mahatma Virudh Gandhi, said, “Playing any larger-than-life character that has lived on this Earth is a challenge. Gandhiji belongs to our collective consciousness. Playing him is stepping into exalted territory.”
Delightfully candid, Jariwala analysed, “I’m not splitting hairs but Dilip Prabhavalkar (in Munna Bhai) was only in the mind of the protagonist and did not depict any phase of Gandhiji’s life. Naseer in Hey Ram was also a fictionalised character, a figment of Kamal Haasan’s imagination.
“Most actors have mimicked Gandhiji’s mannerisms,” he continued. “There are four aspects of abhinaya (angikam, vacikam, ahariyam and sattvikam). The first three are about the setting, the lighting, the makeup, the gestures which aid the audience’s willingness to buy into the persona. Sattvikam comes with lesser crutches. There was no attempt to mimic Gandhiji’s speech or gestures. We wanted to bring out the essence of his nature, of his tormented relationship with his son. Going by this explanation, I think I was the best Gandhi,” he concluded without blushing.
With Pratik entering this illustrious club, the debate will gain momentum in the coming months.