Santoshi Productions LLP’s Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh is about the ideological differences between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse, the man who killed Gandhi.
The film does not profess to be a historical account of the lives of Gandhi and Godse. It is an imaginary account of what could have transpired between the two when their ideologies were poles apart.
The film starts soon after India attains independence. In the aftermath, Godse considers Gandhi to be anti-Hindus and pro-Muslims. Aggrieved, he tries to kill Gandhi. But while Gandhi is saved, Godse is jailed. Time passes by. Gandhi and Godse meet in jail when the former is imprisoned. The two are lodged in the same cell and, therefore, get enough time to understand each other. Godse is convinced that his opinion about Mahatma Gandhi was wrong. Finally, both are set free from jail.
Asghar Wajahat and Rajkumar Santoshi have written an imaginary story about the ideologies of the two historical characters. Since the fact that Godse had murdered Gandhi is so deeply embedded in our minds because of history lessons we learnt, the story of this film confuses the audience even more than it entertains. Although it is clearly specified in the film that it is an imaginary account rather than a true account, the viewers are bound to get confused. No doubt, Rajkumar Santoshi’s screenplay is engaging but it has its limitations because not many among the audience would want to revisit a chapter of history, that too, an imaginary account of it. Dialogues (Asghar Wajahat and Rajkumar Santoshi) are weighty and nice.
Deepak Antani looks like Mahatma Gandhi and acts in a very natural style. Chinmay Mandlekar is also very good in the role of Godse. Tanisha Santoshi looks good and makes a fairly nice debut as Sushma. Anuj Saini looks handsome and does well in his debut film but gets limited scope as Naren. Pawan Chopra is okay as Jawaharlal Nehru. Ghanshyam Srivastava is average as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Mukund Pathak is alright as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Alok Gadgekar does a fair job as Vishnu Karkare. Nitin Ghanekar is fair as Narayan Apte. Madhu Kandhari is reasonably good as Nirmaladevi. Arif Zakaria (as Acharya J.B. Kriplani) has his moments. Sushil Shukla (as Pyarelal), Pradeep Sharma (as Rajendra Prasad), Krishna Kotian (as Maulana Azad) and Shashikant Singh (as Patwari) lend good support. Others are quite nice.
Rajkumar Santoshi’s direction is mature. A.R. Rahman’s music and background score are good but not exceptional. Shabina Khan’s choreography is functional. Rishi Punjabi does a fine job of the camerawork. Abbas Ali Moghul’s action and stunt scenes are thrilling, especially the Hindu-Muslim riots during Partition. Dhananjay Mondal’s production designing is of a good standard. A. Sreekar Prasad’s editing is tight.
On the whole, in spite of being well made, Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh will find the going at the box-office tough. Its release in the same week as the very formidable Pathaan is another stumbling block in its path.
Released on 26-1-’23 at Inox (daily 3 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PVR Pictures Ltd. Publicity: good. Opening: fair (due to Republic Day holiday). …….Also released all over.