Column | Gandhi beyond the biopic
This article explores how documentaries, podcasts, and digital media are moving beyond traditional biopics to provide a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of Mahatma Gandhi's life and ideology. It highlights various contemporary resources that examine both his historical impact and his controversial views on caste, race, and sexuality.
Why it matters
As public interest in historical figures shifts toward digital-first formats, these diverse media resources offer a more critical and multifaceted perspective on Gandhi, challenging the simplified narratives often presented in mainstream cinema.
He organised satyagraha -like sit-ins at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, and later wrote at length about how Gandhi inspired this strategy, calling him “one of the most creative political leaders of all time”. There are so many lesser-known aspects of Mahatma Gandhi’s life that even otherwise well-informed Indians are not aware of.
Since the days of Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi or Shyam Benegal’s Making of the Mahatma , directors have kept reinventing Gandhi on screen. Sudhir Mishra’s forthcoming historical film will see Manoj Bajpayee reprise Bapu, and Pratik Gandhi essays the Mahatma from plays ( Mohan No Masalo ) to web-series (Hansal Mehta’s upcoming OTT series). But popular feature films can only do so much. That’s where history books and documentary films can fill the gap.
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