‘THE WORLD NEEDS GANDHI NOW MORE THAN EVER’

..Says actor Pratik Gandhi, who, along with director Hansal Mehta, and producer Sameer Nair, speaks about their shared vision behind their web series, Gandhi, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival

- NAMRATA JOSHI

T’S the first time for an Indian web series to have been selected at the Toronto International Film Festival.

With the screening of two episodes from season one, Applause Entertainment’s Gandhi, on the formative years of the Father of the Nation, had its world premiere in the Primetime segment of TIFF. Based on the books Gandhi Before India and Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World by Ramachandra Guha, it has been created by Hansal Mehta and Sameer Nair, directed by Mehta, with Pratik Gandhi playing the titular role. Bhamini Oza Gandhi plays Kasturba, and Tom Felton and Kabir Bedi star in the other key roles. The original score is by AR Rahman. CE caught up with Team Gandhi on the eve of their departure for the festival.

Excerpts:

There is already a very seminal film out there: Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning biopic. Shyam Benegal made The Making of the Mahatma.

How did you define your approach?