Award-winning director P Sheshadri’s Mohandas is a throwback to the childhood days of Bapu. The director’s Midas touch and the excellent work of the technical team and performances ensure an effective portrayal of Gandhiji when he was an innocent kid happy in his own world. Coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, director Sheshadri’s first biopic is based on two books — the initial few chapters from Gandhiji’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, and Paapu Gandhi Bapu Gandhi Aada Kathe written by Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi. With a runtime of around 90 minutes, Mohandas captures the life and times of 18th century Porbandar and Rajkot.
We see glimpses of Gandhiji being fondly called Mohnia by his family, him getting influenced by friends into smoking, eating meat, getting involved in theft, and lying to cover his bad habits. The film trods through the change he begins to experience when he develops a conscience. The capture of Mohnia’s guilt and the intense feeling of remorse when writing the truth to his father (Ananth Mahadevan), is the crux of the story, which aims to shine light on the less-discussed portions of the Mahatma’s adolescent life.
The film also shows how the two stories from mythology — Satya Harischandra and Shravanakumara — had a major impact on Gandhiji’s life, and how it helped him to deal with situations. The resolution of the film is about Gandhiji’s father forgiving his mistakes and making the Mahatma understand the value of truth and non-violence. There is also a brief look into his marriage and life with Kasturi Bai. Above all, the end credits accompanied with some rare pictures of Gandhiji do catch the audience’s attention. Considering the universality of the central character, Sheshadri has ensured the film not just releases in Kannada but also in Hindi and English.
Known for his craft and eye for detail, the director has accomplished the painstaking job to reflect the ambiance of that century. Credit should also go to the art director Hosmane Murthy for recreating the authenticity of the bygone era. The casting is also on point, especially Paramswami, who plays Mohnia as a child, and Samarth, who flawlessly reflects the personality of an adolescent Mohandas. Though present for a brief time, a good performance comes from Ananth Mahadevan, who plays the role of Karamchand Gandhi, and Shruthi as Putalibai.
Special mention should go to music director Pravin Godkindhi, and cinematographer, GS Bhaskar, who enhance the film with the background score and picturisation, respectively.
Mohandas might be a children’s film, however, its appeal seems to have no age limitations, as it explores the lesser-known facts of Gandhiji. As for Sheshadri, he might just have to make space on his shelves for yet another glory.