Who would dare to make a Hindi film on an old man who is suffering from Alzheimer`s disease? Who would dare to make a film in Bollywood, which has no 'hero-heroine' element in it? Not many filmmakers would dare to make such a film in Bollywood, where films are being made whose scripts are stolen from Hollywood films,but there are some fearless young filmmakers entering Bollywood, who dare to make such different films and one such director is Jahnu Barua. Though the film must have not gone well with the masses, it is surely a great film from an intelligent viewer's point of view.
Anupam Kher`s ''Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara'', directed by Jahnu Barua, stars Anupam Kher, Urmila Matondkar, Rajat Kapur, Boman Irani and Waheeda Rahman. This film has Anupam Kher as its producer,which is something very unsual. Anupam Kher directed a film some years back called ''Om Jai Jagadish'' which didn't do too well at the box office and with the audiences but this film which has been produced by him is definitely going to be loved by those people who appreciate good cinema.
The film has Anupam Kher, in his best ever performance and it also stars the very talented and versatile actress Urmila Matondkar in it. When such talented people team up for a film,it is surely bound to create history and ''Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara'' is a film which one can never forget after the film ends.
Professor Uttam Chaudhary (Anupam Kher) is a retired professor who lives with his children and leads a very simple life. He has 3 children. His eldest and ambitious son, Ronu (Rajat Kapur) is away to the United States of America,where he wants to earn lots of money and where he thinks he will achieve success. His other children are Addy (Addy) and Trisha (Urmila Matondkar).
Trisha is the best daughter a father could have asked for. She is very caring and loving towards her father.She works in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and is currently engaged to a guy (Vishwaas Pandiya). Professor Uttam Chaudhary`s family is a very simple yet a very happy one. They all live together, eat together and share all the moments of their lives with each other.
Things slowly and gradually start getting worse when Professor Uttam Chauhdary`s memory gets weaker day by day. Initially, Professor Uttam Chaudhary starts forgetting small things which do not bother anyone but problems arise when Professor Uttam Chaudhary forgets everything. It is discovered that he is suffering from Alzheimer`s disease. The professor forgets that he is retired and he even forgets that his wife had passed away two years back.
One day, he sees the photo of the father of his nation, Mahatma Gandhi on a teacup and then strange things start to happen. Professor Uttam Chaudhary starts feeling guilty, he feels that he is responsible for Mahatma Gandhi`s death. He feels that he killed Gandhi but he feels that he did not kill Gandhi intentionally. This guilt of killing Gandhi makes life miserable not only for Professor Uttam Chaudhary but also for his children.
Trisha has to sacrifice everything for her father. She stands against the whole society which keeps on saying bad things about her father. Her fiancé breaks of his engagement with her and she also receives lots of complain from the NGO where she works, but she gives more priority to her father`s deteriorating health. To make her father come out of this guilt of murdering Gandhi she is given an idea by her doctor (Parvin Dabbas) to hire a false lawyer (Boman Irani) and a false court where a case would be held that whether Uttam Chaudhary is Gandhi`s murderer or not.In the end,they would prove him innocent and make Professor Uttam realise that he is not Gandhi`s murderer so that he does not feel guilty.
Trisha throughout this worst phase of her father`s life supports him,even though her brother wants him to be sent to the mental asylum. Will Trisha be able to fight against all odds? And what is the actual problem with Profeesor Uttam Chaudhary?What makes him feel that he is responsible for Gandhi`s death?
Anupam Kher gives the best performance of his lifetime, ever. Such a difficult role was not so easy for anyone to perform. Only a seasoned actor of Anupam Kher`s caliber could enact this difficult and challenging role. He excels in the scenes in which he shows his guilt of killing a man as gentle as Gandhi. Especially he shines in the scene where he hides under the bed due to guilt of killing Gandhi and in the second half, in the courtroom scenes, too he is excellent. Anupam Kher deserves a pat on his back,not only for giving such a wonderful performance but also for producing a film of this kind.
Urmila Matondkar is brilliant once again.She is truly an actress who believes in quality more than quantity. The quality of films she has been doing since last two to three years is excellent. Each new release of hers has the actress attempting different kind of role but with equal brilliance. As the supportive and caring daughter, she shines.
Boman Irani as the false lawyer is fantastic, once again. Waheeda Rehman, though in a small role, still does her part very well. Rajat Kapur, Addy and Vishwas Pandya also do justice to their respective roles.
Jahnu Barua is a director to watch out for. The director has managed to make a very different, original yet a very gripping film. From the very beginning of the film, when you are introduced to the retired professor and his family till the interval when the professor starts losing his memory and from there to the second half when the professor is humiliated and his daughter supports him, the film succeeds in holding the viewers interest.
The first half is executed brilliantly and the second half has some really interesting and well acted moments. There is lots of drama in the second half,which will keep the viewers` interest alive.
Screenplay by Jahnu Barua is also very good. All the characters are very well defined and they all seem to be very much like real people, not filmy people.
Script is very well written and very original too. Never has such a different film been attempted by anyone in Bollywood before. Only some directors such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Madhur Bhandarkar, etc. dare to be different and the latest to be added in this list is Jahnu Barua.
Editing is also crisp, with the film moving at a perfect pace;nor dragging much but not even moving very fast. Cinematography is first-rate. Bappi-Lahiri`s music is good but don`t think that this song has a lip sync or a romantic kind of a song. It has a theme song, which is played in the film, in the background.
''Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara'', is a must watch for those people who like to see experimental and different films which rely on more on content than hype or glamour. It is a very well directed and a very well acted film, which is surely not to be missed. At the box-office the film has failed to do good business, but then that was expected. First of all,such a different and daring subject has little appeal for the masses and secondly,the film wasn`t promoted so well.Infact, its trailers had started on the TV just 12 days before its release and so very few people were aware of its release on 30 September 2005. However, who cares about the box-office status when the film itself is so good!
