Gandi            

By Tom Keogh

Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film.

Academy Awards

Gandi received Academy Awards for Best Picture (Sir Richard Attenborough - Producer), Actor (Ben Kingsley), Directing (Sir Richard Attenborough), Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen; John Briley), Art Direction/Set Decoration (Stuart Craig - Art Direction, Bob Laing - Art Direction, Michael Seirton - Set Decoration), Cinematography (Billy Williams, Ronnie Taylor), Costume Design (ohn Mollo, Bhanu Athaiya), and Film Editing (John Bloom). It was nominated for Best Achievement in Makeup (Tom Smith), Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score; Ravi Shankar, George Fenton), and Sound (Gerry Humphreys, Robin O'Donoughue, Jonathan Bates, Simon Kaye).

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