Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara
DVD cover
Directed by	Jahnu Barua
Produced by	Anupam Kher
Written by	Jahnu Barua Sanjay Chauhan
Starring	Anupam Kher Urmila Matondkar Rajit Kapur Parvin Dabas
Music by	Bappi Lahiri
Cinematography	Raaj Chakravarti
Editing by	Deepa Bhatia
Release date(s)	30 September 2005
Language	Hindi
Budget	Rs. 20 million
Box office	Rs. 3.9 million

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (translated as I Did Not Kill Gandhi) (2005), is an Indian film, directed by Jahnu Barua and produced by Anupam Kher. The film stars Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar in lead roles.

In the film, a poem by noted Hindi poet, Nirala, Himmat Karne Walon Ki Har Nahi Hoti (Those who have courage never fail) was depicted as the favorite poem of the main character ^[1]

Plot summary

The film explores the downward spiral of a retired Hindi professor, Uttam Chaudhary, (portrayed by Anupam Kher), as he falls victim to dementia. After he sees someone carelessly place a cup on a newspaper photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, his senility increases. One night his daughter Trisha, played by Urmila Matondkar, and son Karan discover his room on fire. Trisha takes him to a doctor who says nothing can be done.

Then Uttam believes he killed Mahatma Gandhi by accidentally playing with a toy gun which had real bullets and shooting Gandhi during his walk in Birla House. So they go see Uttam's brother for details. Uttam's brother says that when they were young, they played darts by filling ballons with red dye and placing it on someone's picture.

One day someone found Gandhi's picture and Uttam popped a ballon while their father saw who believed he killed Gandhi, with Uttam replying "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" while his father hit him. Later they go to another doctor named Siddharth Parvin Dabas who helps Uttam when he thinks that his house is jail and people poisoned his food because he killed Gandhi. Siddharth eats the food so Uttam knows the food is not poisoned. Later they are in court and a gun expert says that a toy gun (which Uttam believes he killed Gandhi with) can not kill anyone.

Response

The movie did not do well at the box office. However, it was much appreciated by audiences and critics. Anupam Kher received critical acclaim for his performance and won a Special Jury Award at the National Film Awards. He also received awards at several international film festivals.^[2][3] Matondkar was also much appreciated for playing the caring daughter of Kher and won the Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for her performance.^[4]

Cast

• Anupam Kher as Professor Uttam Chaudhary
• Urmila Matondkar as Trisha Chaudhary
• Rajit Kapur as Ronu Chaudhary
• Parvin Dabas as Dr. Siddarth Katari
• Prem Chopra
• Waheeda Rahman
• Boman Irani
• Sudhir Joshi
• Raju Kher
• Vishwaas Paandya
• Nazneen Ghaani

See also

• List of artistic depictions of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

References

1. ^ Read Nirala’s poems "Himmat Karne Walon Ki Haar Nahin Hoti" in Devnagari script at geeta-kavita.com
2. ^ "Barua wins Fukuoka festival prize for 'Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara". News.oneindia.in. 2006-10-07. http://news.oneindia.in/2006/10/07/barua-wins-fukuoka-festival-prize-for-maine-gandhi-ko-nahin-mara-1160215560.html. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 
3. ^ "'I've outdone Saaransh' - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2006-03-02. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1435801.cms. Retrieved 2011-06-24. 
4. ^ "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" by Taran Adarsh

External links

• Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC review
• Rediff review