Gandhi (film)

Gandhi is a 1982 epic biographical film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, a major leader in the Indian independence movement against the British Empire during the 20th century. A co-production between India and the United Kingdom, the film was directed and produced by Richard Attenborough and written by John Briley. It stars Ben Kingsley in the title role. The biographical film covers Gandhi's life from a defining moment in 1893, as he is thrown off a South African train for being in a whites-only compartment and concludes with his assassination and funeral in 1948. Although a practising Hindu, Gandhi's embracing of other faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam, is also depicted. Over 300,000 extras appeared in the film, believed to be the most in any film made.^[3][4]

Gandhi was released by Columbia Pictures in India on 30 November 1982, in the United Kingdom on 3 December, and in the United States on 8 December. It was praised for its portrayal of the life of Gandhi, the Indian independence movement and the deleterious results of British colonisation on India.

It was considered to have maintained a reasonable level of historical accuracy, although many separate events were amalgamated, such as historical meetings with individual people being combined into single fictionalized scenes for narrative pacing.^[5] Several events were exaggerated or invented, such as Gandhi being thrown off a train, or being beaten by police while burning registration certificates.^[5] The chronology of Gandhi’s early activism was altered, and certain historical figures (e.g. C.F. Andrews and Mohammad Ali Jinnah) were considered to have been portrayed inaccurately.^[5] The film was praised for conveying Gandhi’s core principles of nonviolence and human dignity effectively, offering audiences an accessible introduction to his life and message.^[6]

Its production values, costume design, and Kingsley's performance received worldwide critical acclaim. It became a commercial success, grossing $127.8 million on a $22 million budget. Gandhi received a leading eleven nominations at the 55th Academy Awards, winning eight, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Kingsley). The British Film Institute ranked it as the 34th greatest British film of the 20th century. The American Film Institute ranked the film 29th on its list of most inspiring movies.