LIFE OF GANDHI 1869-1948
Comments
"I am glad that the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi concentrated on the medium of a film to broadcast the life story of Gandhiji among the people of India and the peoples of the world ... . This film of truly epic proportions will bring to the older as well as to the younger generations something of the history of the heroic days we lived and fought for freedom under our great leader."
Dr. Zakir Hussain, first President of India
REACTIONS OF DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF PEOPLE:
"I am quite sure that for once perhaps Einstein may prove to be wrong in that after the documentary posterity will certainly believe that such a one as this in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."
"It was not direction but dedication."
"I came to be bored but remained to be bewitched."
"The picture had almost a magic spell over us."
"It only again made us live through those exciting days."
MASS MEDIA:
"It is the Gandhi Nidhi's Centenary gift to nation. It is doubtful if a film of this epic proportions has ever been produced or seen in any part of the world. Mahatma is in every respect, a good and great documentary film."
Free Press Journal, Bombay
"A gripping documentary on Gandhiji ..."
Times of India, Delhi
"A monumental film which is not only a great film epic but one that can hold its head high professionally anywhere in the world.
The Sunday Statesman, Delhi
"Gandhi lives in the marathon film epic ... . Notable for its sincerity and the magnificence of its span, the movie, in a way, redeems the self-respect the industry had jeopardized by its inability to make a film on Gandhiji ... . We salute this film ... . A stiff challenge has produced a splendid film epic. This is the longest-and the greatest-film the world has ever produced; yet at no time in its inordinate length, does it meander into unessentials or degenerate into tedium ... . Rich in nostalgia, to capture the imagination or thrill the heart ... . For the first time celluloid has captured the soul of a man and the heart beat of a nation in travail and triumph ... . This Gandhi film is notable as a great human and persuasive document."
Blitz, Bombay
"No technical pyrotechnics have been used but a simple dignified approach which because its subject is of such absorbing interest keeps one in one's seat for five hours ... ."
Hindustan Times, Delhi
"A great documentary ... The most crucial era of Indian history, becomes alive in "Mahatma" ... The film illuminates in a stirring manner, the moral courage of the man who made the Indian people aware of their bondage ... . Authentic in its presentation and tremendously significant for its theme, the film is a must for all those who belong to this country ... ."
Star & Style, Bombay
"Seven years of actual production, many more years of researching into film archives, have resulted in what is truly the longest, the most impressive and the most monumental movie ever attempted ... . A severe austere style with no conventional filmic enbellishment, no arty-crafty camera angles, or tricks of editing, no attempt to create melodrama ... . Those who are devoted to Gandhian gospel, and also for the serious students of the cinema in India and abroad, the whole length of this memorable and monumental movie should be seen at one sitting. After seeing this film, one wishes there was a Vithalbhai Jhaveri, and the miracle of film craft in the days of Buddha and Christ to transmit to us a contemporary visual record of those Sons of the Land."
Film World, Madras
"'Mahatma' is as epoch-making as the life and work of one of the great figures in Indian History ... ."
Deccan Herald, Bangalore
"'Mahatma' a moving masterpiece ... whose very prolixity turns out to be its virtue."
Indian Express, Bangalore
"Immortality on celluloid ... . It tells the story of a man who like the morning sun, awakened a slumbering nation. It is an attempt to recreate by image and suggestions a part of world history in difficult times, a bold hid to capture pictorially the life of a man of the centuries."
National Herald, Delhi