Why Hansal Mehta wants you to watch his next series, Gandhi
If brave and meaningful cinema had a synonym, it would be Hansal Mehta. Shahid, Aligarh, Citylights, Faraaz have all been strong voices of conviction. Lately, he has been delighting us with long form of storytelling in one web series after another. As he is ready with the first season of Gandhi, he calls it an inflection point in his over three decade long career that has seen more ups than downs.
The series on the Father of the Nation, two episodes of which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, also takes him back to days of his much acclaimed Shahid, which too had a date with the prestigious TIFF in 2012. If back then it changed the trajectory of his life, today he is overwhelmed not just by the standing ovation but to “see Gandhi come alive on big screen for content otherwise intended for a streaming platform.” He does view the series, first season of which would dwell upon Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s early life in India to his 23 years in South Africa, as significant. He avers, “You live to tell such a story. Gandhi has been the most influential Indian of all times; and to be able to use your craft to project this with such an epic sweep is something I have not explored before.”
His Gandhi, however, is not India’s answer to The Crown. The idea may have germinated in the Head of Applause Entertainment Sameer Nair’s mind while watching The Crown, but that’s where any reference to the magnum opus on British Royalty ends. Busy with the post-production of last four episodes of the eight episode series, Hansal would not dwell on the micro details. Yet, he does promise that the Gandhi you would see in his forthcoming series would be a human being first and foremost.
Hansal says, “Gandhi has often been deified making us unable to see him as the person that he was. For me, he is not Mahatma but Mohan. I think there is Gandhi within each one of us, in a way his is the journey of today’s young man.”
In more recent times Gandhi bashing might have become rather fashionable. Hansal argues, “By and large today’s generation’s idea of Gandhi is based on misinformation circulating through social media reels. Criticise or glorify; only do it through an informed lens. I am not here to change your opinion, only to help you arrive at an informed one.”
Based on eminent historian Ramchandra Guha’s extensively well-researched books, Hansal did not require much additional research, except may be look up references in the bibliography for a particular scene or moment. Like Hansal’s other series, be it Scam or Scoop, the maker in him is more interested in character arcs, their personal journeys and Gandhi is indeed personal for this Gujarati. Yet another Gujarati, Pratik Gandhi, who has been playing Gandhi on stage all his life, he believes, “is a perfect fit.”
Acting for Hansal is not mimicry/imitation or copying the mannerisms of real people. His Scam 1992 actor Pratik has not replaced his other favourite Rajkummar Rao. He quips, “It would be like saying, I like my younger daughter more than the elder one.” Interestingly, while Hansal is always looking for actors more than stars, Gandhi boasts of many big names including Tome Felton, James Murray. Murray incidentally played Prince Andrew in The Crown. Hansal’s reason for turning towards these international bigwigs was simple, “A film on Gandhi, of this global scale, called for a huge cast, besides, they are good actors.”
If he doesn’t hanker after star value, the director of Kareena Kapoor-starrer The Buckingham Murders has nothing against superstars either. What motivates him above all is the desire to tell many stories, not necessarily real or factual. Hence OTT becomes a necessary medium. Though his production house is called True Story Films, what he is looking for is the truth in individual journeys. Heroes like Gandhi or marginalised beings, he asserts, “My characters represent sense of justice and injustice; people who have questioned inequality based on their life experiences.”
Scam Season 3, Scoop’s second season and a Hindi film with path-breaking Malayalam director Lijo Jose Pellissery, in his busy calendar Gandhi is likely to be a beacon for here was, “an agent of change.”
Whether cinema can change the world, Hansal professes, “It is a catalyst, can provoke/debate and be a conversation starter. Change only come from us the people and hence the Gandhi within us.”
Be ready for enlightening dose of self-reflection when Gandhi gets a release date and streaming partner. If Gandhi said, ‘My life is my message,’ Hansal deems, “In our lives, our journey, there is a message which we need to recognise to make the world a better place.” Amen!
Lifestyle