Bollywood

  Imagine a conversation with our very own Bapu, Mahatma Gandhi in Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: KJV
today’s time. Well, that will always be my impossible dream. But yesterday, we had the privilege to American business men must learn human nature to the point of accepting as necessary the Rabble Rouser of the Right. . . . To get fast action somebody must stir millions to genuine anger over conditions which are adversely affecting their lives.
talk to the fifth generation of Gandhis regarding a film which is very close to their hearts and It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment,—Independence now and Independence forever.
which they will always cherish throughout their living life – Gandhi My Father. Yes, in this first Unless you’re lead dog, the scenery never changes.
ever exclusive interview, the great great grandson and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi spoke to All men think all men mortal but themselves.
IndiaFM about their relationship with their father Tusshar Gandhi, whether people still follow the The moon of Mahomet Arose, and it shall set; While, blazoned as on heaven’s immortal noon, The cross leads generations on.
Gandhian principles and why should everyone go and watch Gandhi My Father. Excerpts from Vivan If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.
Gandhi’s interviewHow does it feel to be the great great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi? Vivan Gandhi The world breaks everyone, and afterward some are strong at the broken places.
– It feels great. Infact, I feel proud that I am the great great grandson of the person who gave I don’t even get an allowance.
us our much deserved Independence whom we fondly call Bapu. What went through your mind when you Faith, like the whole Christian life, is an encounter in which God takes and keeps the initiative.
first heard about the film Gandhi My Father?VG – When I first heard about Gandhi My Father coming A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. KJV
out I immediately recalled that there was no such film ever to come out of any kind of cinema If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering there are men on base.
showing the relationship between the great man and his eldest son Harilal. That fact took me by Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities — always see them, for they’re always there.
surprise. I felt nice but was also curious as to what the film might show or portray. I was looking And since geometry is the right foundation of all painting, I have decided to teach its rudiments and principles to all youngsters eager for art…
forward to see it as soon as possible. The film deals with the disagreements and conflicts between And that’s the real incentive, isn’t it? It’s not so much the fact that you get to bask in their God’s love that’s the selling point, it’s that you avoid damnation. Think of it like Coke putting out an ad that says ‘Snapple causes muscle spasms, Pepsi is infected with AIDS, and tap-water gives you cancer. So drink Coke. Not only do we taste good, we’re the only alternative to pain and suffering.’ It’s actually a pretty good marketing tool. Humanity, by nature, is an ambivalent animal, given to fits of inertia, and we’re more than likely to sit on our noncommittal behinds unless there’s a bogeyman to chase us out of our chairs.
Bapu and his eldest son Harilal. If Bapu was here today, what would you be arguing against him and Nothing in Moderation We all loved him
why? VG – Let me make it very clear that if Bapu was here in today’s time, I wouldn’t want Bapu to It takes more than a wise man to keep track of a foolish woman.
change nor would I want him to change me because he was a different person all together and his So long as a man is angry he can’t be in the right.
thoughts would have been completely in contrast to mine. He is miles ahead in his approach towards During the last years of Mayakovski’s life, when all poetry had ceased to exist . . . literature had stopped.
life and instead of arguing, I would be listening to his teachings. Today, in the world of Every man passes his life in the search after friendship.
corruption and people applying shortcuts for success, do you think Bapu seeing all this would be HARANGUE, n. A speech by an opponent, who is known as an harrangue-outang.
ashamed of his teachings? VG – Yes, he would have felt upset seeing the drastic change in the Linguistics becomes an ever eerier area, like I feel like I’m in Oz, Just trying to tell it like it was.
system and the way it has affected everyone. But during his time, India was newly independent and Our dreams drench us in senses, and senses steps us again in dreams.
there was not a lot of corruption compared to what’s happening today. But I am so sure that if he Fools admire, but men of sense approve.
was here today with us, he would have still tried his best to change India for good. That does not Chaos results when the world changes faster than people.
mean that we cannot change it. We are trying to improve the corrupt system which is tough but not Nature is a revelation of God; Art a revelation of man.
impossible. Does that mean you are going to be one of the very few who will be pursuing his career As he brews, so shall he drink.
into politics to change the system? VG – I haven’t thought about what my future career is going to I have been breaking silence these twenty-three years and have hardly made a rent in it.
be like because I have just entered college. May be in the time to come I might join politics but Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And a good thing never really dies.
not certain. I would not completely ignore the fact that India today requires honest politicians and A mere copier of nature can never produce anything great.
patriotic people to make India a better place to live in. At this present moment, I have my own life Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.
to look after and there are many people to look after the situation. But as said earlier, I would Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.
not ignore my own country. If you’ve seen the film, could you recall your best moments from Gandhi A man always has two reasons for what he does- a good one, and the real one.
My Father?VG - I have seen the film and I can recall the three most touching moments from it. One Did you think you could have the good without the evil? Did you think you could have the joy without the sorrow? . . . . I have been thinking much about pain. How could I help it? . . . . Sooner or later, regardless of the wit of man, we have pain to face; a reality; a final inescapable, immutable fact of life. What poor souls, if we have then no philosophy to face it with! This pain will not last; it never has lasted. I’ll think about what I am going to write tomorrow—not about me, not about my body.
when Harilal changes into Islam religion and when Kasturba comes to meet him while he is having Secret and self-contained and solitary as an oyster.
lunch. Another was when Harilal sends a letter to Bapu about how he being the father of the nation An individual’s treatment and alternatives in life may depend as much on the reputation of the group to which that person belongs as on their own merit.
could not be a father to his own son. Finally, during Bapu’s funeral scene when Harilal, inspite of The earth is the cradle of the mind — but one cannot eternally live in a cradle.
trying to get close to his father in the stampede was pushed aside. These were few of the many People who do things that count, never stop to count them.
emotional scenes I thought will make people cry in the film. Do you believe that Hindi cinema is Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
changing for good by making such films like Gandhi My Father?VG - This is a very different film God’s love for us is constant and will not diminish, but he cannot rescue us from the painful results that are caused by wrong choices.
which has come out of Indian cinema from the many comedy, romantic and family dramas recently When you take the sires of the cage apart, you do not hurt the bird, but you help it. You let it out of its prison. How do you you know that death does not help me when it takes the wires of my cage down?—that it does not release me, and put me into some better place and better condition of life?
released. Gandhi My Father is a good change from the same old action, thrillers and comedies. I Tinsel is really snakes’ mirrors.
think such films should come out every year which reminds us of our simplicity and takes us back to Sensitiveness is closely allied to egotism. Indeed, excessive sensitiveness is only another name for morbid self-consciousness. The cure for it is to make more of our objects, and less of ourselves.
our roots and most importantly, make us feel patriotic. Not to forget, in this film people will be Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. KJV
seeing a completely different Bapu which will be quite interesting for the viewers. What Jesus lived His life in complete dependence upon God, as we all ought to live our lives. But such dependence does not destroy human personality. Man is never so fully and so truly personal as when he is living in complete dependence upon God. This is how personality comes into its own. This is humanity at its most personal.
relationship do you share with your father, the great grandson of Bapu – Tushaar Gandhi? VG – Commenting on the decisions of the Bowl Alliance regarding WAC teams: It’s a step, no question. Obviously, it’s not what any of us wanted, but it’s at least a step. We can now say we’re part of the Alliance. However, I hope it’s not perceived that they bought us off and we’re going to go away. It’s not fair. It’s not right; we still need to fight. We can’t let them go away and hide. Other schools are taking a major share of the pot, and that’s still a major sore point as far as I’m concerned. But at least this is a step, and better than what we had in the past.
There are some points which we defer on. My father has his own way of thinking and point of view What shocks the virtuous philosopher, delights the chameleon poet.
about life and vice versa but we don’t really argue over it. For example the way of dressing in PREJUDICE, n. A vagrant opinion without visible means of support.
today’s time is something which my father doesn’t like, so we do exchange a few words across the Oh, rather give me commentators plain, Who with no deep researches vex the brain; Who from the dark and doubtful love to run, And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun.
table, nothing more than that. Do you often wear Khadi? VG - Yes, I do sometimes occasionally at We make way for the man who boldly pushes past us.
functions I attend and during National holidays like the Independence Day and Republic Day. Who is A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows of natural objects, classified with name and form.
your favourite actor from the Hindi film industry today? VG – Aamir Khan is the best we have today You have to know what’s important and what’s unimportant, for you.
but after seeing Akshaye Khanna, I might have to change my views. Should Gandhi My Father be Well, I’ll repent, and that suddenly, while I am in some liking; I shall be out of heart shortly, and then I shall have no strength to repent.
selected as an official entry from India in next year’s Oscar awards? VG - It should definitely be There is nothing more to be esteemed than a manly firmness and decision of character. I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it; who sees at once what is to be done in given circumstances and does it.
selected for the Oscars. Infact, the performances are so good that it should win an Oscar. Are you Carpe diem Seize the day
looking forward to attend the premiere in Mumbai with your family? VG - Yes I am looking forward to Love cures people — both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
attend the premiere with my family and the stars. I would also like to meet Akshaye Khanna and the We rise in glory as we sink in pride.
entire cast simply to congratulate them on this wonderful film they have given our film industry. History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.
What message would you give as Gandhiji’s great great grandson to the people on why they should go Oak trees come out of acorns, no matter how unlikely that seems. An acorn is just a tree’s way back into the ground. For another try. Another trip through. One life for another.
and see Gandhi My Father?VG – Everyone has seen Bapu’s many films as a freedom fighter. This film The truth is, the science of Nature has been already too long made only a work of the brain and the fancy: It is now high time that it should return to the plainness and soundness of observations on material and obvious things.
is completely different. It will show for the first time on celluloid an icon as a father to his son The critical period in matrimony is breakfast-time.
and not to the nation. I request people to watch Gandhi My Father because they might associate A cool and candid people will at once reflect that the purest of human blessings must have a portion of alloy in them, that the choice must always be made, if not of the lesser evil, at least of the greater, not the perfect, good.
themselves with the film through the various confrontations but yet learn the love for their family. It is a product of Einstein’s genius — taking a commonplace observation, combining it with some simple imaginary experiments, and arriving at a revolutionary conclusion.
Excerpts from Kasturi Gandhi’s interview: Your name is inspired from your great great grandmother The ultimate aim of the training is to create an actor who can be responsible for his artistic development and achievement.
and wife of Mahatma Gandhi, Kasturba. How do you feel? Both my father and mother loved this name and Often a dash of judgment is better than a flash of genius.
kept my name Kasturi. I do like my name but in my school there are two boys who are known by the Perverts the Prophets and purloins the Psalms.
same name, so I feel a bit strange. Do you think that Gandhiji’s philosophy still exists among us The story tells us, too, That if you cut a pine cone part way through, You find it bears within it like a brand The imprint of His hand.
Indians? I think it is more to do with common sense. Today if people give up violence, then One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.
definitely corruption will become less and the same the other way around. So if Bapu applied these Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
principles in 1947, and the then public followed it, I won’t be surprised why people would not None without hope e’er lov’d the brightest fair, But love can hope where reason would despair.
follow them now, and I believe that there are a few majority of people who till date still follow It’s really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you’re a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you’re a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are.
Mahatma’s philosophy. What points of Bapu would you disagree in the film and what would you On the approach of spring I withdraw without reluctance from the noisy and extensive scene of crowds without company, and dissipation without pleasure.
disagree in Harilal’s approach to his father? I’ve seen the film and they both have their own No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
reasons and grounds on which they are firm and stand by it. For Bapu, everyone was equal and he gave [Medicine is] a collection of uncertain prescriptions the results of which, taken collectively, are more fatal than useful to mankind.
all the people the same opportunity. But for Harilal, he thought that he deserved that right because Fear is the parent of cruelty.
he was Gandhi’s son. I agree with both of them seeing the situation they were kept in. Do your You don’t have to preach honesty to men with creative purpose. Let a human being throw the engines of his soul into the making of something, and the instinct of workmanship will take care of his honesty.
parents sometimes disagree on any of your opinions? Yes, but very rarely. They sometimes do disagree Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
on my opinion but I talk it out openly to them because then I get to know from my parents the right Orlog, The Norns’ Chant— In the midst of darkness, light; In the midst of death, life; In the midst of chaos, order. In the midst of order, chaos; In the midst of life, death; In the midst of light, darkness. Thus has it ever been, Thus is it now, and Thus shall it always be.
and the wrongs from it. I would also like to add that I have never misused the freedom which my The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing. (La coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point)
parents have given to me. Any memorable performances from Gandhi My Father? I loved Akshaye The more thou dost advance, the more thy feet pitfalls will meet. The Path that leadeth on is lighted by one fire — the light of daring burning in the heart. The more one dares, the more he shall obtain. The more he fears, the more that light shall pale.
Khanna’s performance in one of the scenes where he goes out on the street in Ahmedabad and says - Beat around the bush.
‘Main Gandhiji ka nalayak beta hoon’. It shows how helpless he was inspite of a helping hand on him. Any excuse will serve a tyrant.
That scene had a big impact on me because all this happened with my family, the Gandhi family. Tell I never, ever say “I can’t” about anything. I might say “I don’t have the authority to make that decision” or “Building A is too heavy for me to lift” or “I will need training before I pilot that space shuttle.
us one thing you would want Bapu to change in today’s time and age. All the politicians and of A few great minds are enough to endow humanity with monstrous power, but a few great hearts are not enough to make us worthy of using it.
course there are so many things that he can change. Infact, his presence alone will wipe out all the Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.
dirt from the minds and hearts of the people and stop all the corruption from happening. What do I think it not improbable that man, like the grub that prepares a chamber for the winged thing it never has seen but is to be . . . may have cosmic destinies that he does not understand. And so beyond the vision of battling races and an impoverished earth, I catch a dreaming glimpse of peace.
you have to say about Darshan Jariwala’s performance in the film? Arguably the best Gandhi I have I assert that the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research.
seen onscreen till date. Absolutely brilliant! Hats off to him. Which is your favourite Gandhi film Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.
in order of preference? I like Sir Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi played by Sir Ben Kingsley and then Touch is the magic wand of intimacy. Love is keeping in touch.
I like Anupam Kher’s role in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara inspite of the film not being a Gandhi film. True friendship’s laws are by this rule expressed Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.
Do you think that the film’s subject should be introduced in school syllabus or to film students The way by which you may get money almost without exception leads downward.
across the globe? Yes, why not? It gives out a strong message and shows an in-depth relationship For every benefit you receive a tax is levied.
between a father and a son. Even today, these things happen and many people might be facing these If the gentleman is not serious, he will not be respected, and his learning will not be on a firm foundation. He considers loyalty and faithfulness to be fundamental, has no friends who are not like him, and when he has made mistakes, he is not afraid of correcting them.
difficult times as we are talking. So I think that such scripts should be added in the library of You roll my log, and I will roll yours.
acting schools.  

Original post by nitish