Gandhi Godse - Ek Yuddh: Conversation between assassinated and assassinator

Book/film review- 15

       Many books have been written telling the story of Gandhi’s assassination. And, many movies have also been filmed withstanding the onset of the Gandhi’s murder but there are less films that portray the exact ideological figurines of Godse and Gandhi as Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Gandhi Godse - Ek Yuddh’ does.

The cinema hall is empty during the screening of film Gandhi Godse : Ek Yuddh. (Pic by R. Suresh Bhardwaj)

       Film shows the Godse character walking parallel to Gandhi in the ideological battleground. With the division of India, thousands of Hindus and Sikhs flee from Pakistan to India without bread, clothes and houses, and seeing them in pain and grief, Godse wishes to do something as Hindu-nationalist. He starts presuming the reasons behind their pain is Gandhi’s attitudes and activities. 

       He always respects Gandhi for leading Indians against the Britishers for freedom. But, when riots erupt and Hindus and Muslims are being killed in the shadow of division, Gandhi goes on fast until death for the unity of them. Government of India agrees with Gandhi’s terms, and accelerates its efforts to pacify the condition in the riot-affected area. Gandhi breaks his fast. Pacifying efforts work. But, message goes wrongly to the people supporting different ideology on giving Rs. 55 crore to Pakistan.

       Godse is one of them. He takes Gandhi’s efforts of pacifying in the riot-affected area as Muslim appeasement. He presumes police’s use of baton to maintain law and order as the baton of Gandhi that beats Hindu. In response, he decides to kill Gandhi. He shoots three bullets in his chest. Originally, he was assassinated but in the film Gandhi survives to bullet-injury and goes to jail in which Godse is imprisoned where he makes conversation with Godse about the contemporary questions and as a justification of his act. 

       When both Gandhi and Godse are released on the same day, their supporters cheer outside the jail. They raise slogans in aggression but when both walk hand-in-hand their aggression fade off. It is totally a contrast of the current discourse that Gandhi and Godse can’t go hand-in-hand. The film strives to maintain ideological unity after the death of 74 years that is indigestible for many. That is the reason why ‘The Guardian’ reviews it as ‘dangerously bland alternate history.’ 

       Whereas ‘The Hindu’ takes the film as a timely dialogue on the idea of India. Indian Express understands the film saying this revisionist take on Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse is both naïve and insidious. 

        According to media reports, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi asserted about his film that both Gandhi and Godse were fearless people. Musician A R Rahman also commented on the controversy arisen due to the film that People have stopped trusting filmmakers because filmmakers are taking sides. 

       But, the context is far different than we understand. Gandhi believes in a process of thought that promotes truth and non-violence whereas Godse agrees with the violence when it is needed. Gandhi trusts in his philosophy because his means are value-laden, so the end will automatically be in his favour. But, Godse’s thought seems that it erupts spontaneously. Although he supports violence, but on the question over the violence against Britishers, he walks away in the film, which shows that his means have no clear direction in terms of Gandhian approach.

(Pic by R. Suresh Bhardwaj)

        After surviving to bullet-injury, Gandhi goes to Bihar for implementing the idea of Gram Swaraj. Gram Swaraj is a complete republic, independent of its neighbours for its own vital wants. In contemporary politics, this idea has been adopting time to time and Arvind Kejriwal’s idea of Mohalla Clinics is an frequent example. This Gandhian idea is totally different to ideas that believe in “trickle-down” effect (from up to down). It attempts to develop the lower that will benefit the upper. 

        Actor Deepak Antani as Mahatma Gandhi and Chinmay Mandlekar as Nathuram Godse acted well. AR Rahman’s composition of song ‘Vaishnav Jan To’ keeps the film on peak. Overall Rajkumar Santoshi did a marvellous and courageous cinematographic work to answer the Gandhi-Godse metaphors. 

Star : 4 (****) out of 5.