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Gandhi movie to release in the UAE, but not India, says director

THE GANDHI MURDER starring Stephen Lang (of Avatar fame), Luke Pasqualino, the late Om Puri, Rajit Kapur, and Vinnie Jones released today in the UAE.  This film will, however, not release in India as "threats have been coming from unidentified sources" to its makers, claims the director Pankaj Sehgal. 
"The threats have been coming from unidentified numbers, and when I am not in India. So far, we have been taking such threats lightly. Unfortunately, the recent threats have used some of our other business interests, where sensitivity is involved. We were okay for one of the producers to leave Chennai and move to Mumbai, and then leave the country altogether. We were okay when another had to shift her house from Bandra to another location in Mumbai. We sold the vehicle we were using and closed the production house office in Mumbai. But when the threats moved to other interests where others might be at risk, we drew the line," said Pankaj while talking to City Times.
When we asked the makers if they have filed an official complaint regarding this to the police or any film body, they said that they are in the process of filing a PIL to ensure their safety.
The film is co-directed by Karim Traidia and UAE-based director Pankaj Sehgal. 
The makers reveal that The Gandhi Murder explores in detail the excruciating circumstances immediately after the independence and partition of India. In a radicalised India, the Indian intelligence and the police are caught in a web of rising communalism that is seeking to destabilise the fledgling democracy. The 'eye' of the storm is Mahatma Gandhi, whose non-violent 'passive resistance' that led to the independence of the country has now been shunned for a 'tooth-for-a-tooth' philosophy. As the world's largest democracy fights for its very survival, Gandhi's assassination might be the only solution to bring sanity back in the equation. 
Pankaj said that the biggest challenge they faced while making the movie was to shoot the movie in Sri Lanka instead of India. "Being a Hollywood film on India, and Gandhi, our natural inclination was to shoot in India. But we were told, unofficially, that it would not be possible to get such a storyline easily approved. That meant computer graphic (CG) development of historical sites and set production.."
Pankaj has been a Dubai resident since 1997. A small part of the movie was also shot in the UAE. The makers realised that it was not commercially viable to shoot in UAE, as the base architecture here is more Arabic, whereas they wanted a more British look for the movie. "Plus Sri Lanka had the advantage of vintage cars and a lot of estates over there  have been preserved from the British or Dutch times."
You will also see some Dubai residents as part of the cast and crew in the movie. "Behzaad Khan and Alen Thomson, who play Vishnu Karkare and Madan Lal are Dubai residents. Another 4-5 production team members have done some cameo roles."
So how did this movie happen? "We came across the script in 2012, as part of a CG work we were doing for a Hollywood production. We were intrigued. The writer was not an ethnic Indian, which was further exciting, considering we who come from India believe we understand Indian history better. The storyline was so shocking that we felt it was fictional. We were convinced it was an unbelievable true story that must be told," said Pankaj.
Patriotic movies are the flavour of the nation these days, did that help in getting the film noticed by the viewers? "For sure. But this is not just a patriotic film. Gandhi is a global phenomenon.  This movie makes us think that everytime we, the citizens of the Earth start subdividing ourselves by colour, class, religion or ethnicity, we are headed for a disaster. I hope the audience across the globe will use this film as a reflection on divisive politics, and how it ends up destroying, killing and setting the world back."
 

Experience of working with Om Puri
"It was simply wonderful. He was a legend and a wonderful man. He did not have even an iota of ego. He was down to earth and passionate about his role. He was ready to teach our cook how to cook, actors how to perform and support everyone. It is still hard to believe he is no longer with us."
 
 
More about UAE's connect to this film
The movie is produced by Nugen Media which is based in Dubai and is co-directed by Dubai-based director Pankaj Sehgal along with Golden Globe-nominated Dutch director Karim Traidia. Pankaj and Karim met at a masterclass on filmmaking by Emirati movie director, Nayla Al Khaja in Dubai where Karim Traidia was the main speaker. Pankaj took this opportunity to discuss the concept of his movie on the assassination of Gandhi with Traidia who got interested, and once the script was shared, he was entirely on board.
 
 
All of us have grown up reading about Gandhi. From whose perspective are we going to see this story? 
"We read about Gandhi's passive resistance. We learned about his work on tolerance. Not much of which is covered in history books. This is a Gandhi who is sad about the events that have led to the partition. He is not involved officially in the government in anyway, and even some in the government feel he is a spent force. But he stands up one last time, leading to the ultimate sacrifice, his death... and becomes the sole factor in the survival of India as a secular democracy."
 
arti@khaleejtimes.com