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GANDHI, MY FATHER

"Second Generation Tragedy"

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What You Need To Know:

GANDHI, MY FATHER is the story of a horrible father-son relationship that results in the son embarrassing the family and being disowned by his father. At first the movie appears to make Mahatma Gandhi look like an uncaring father, but as the long story unfolds his son Harilil shows himself to be a hopeless loser, incapable of escaping prostitution and alcohol. There comes a point where you must quit blaming your parents, suck it up and make something out of your life. Ideally you repent, get saved, forgive your parents and live by God’s guidance so you can be freed from prostitutes and alcohol.

The acting and production quality are good. There is no foul language and only a hint of sex and violence, but watching a big loser continue to lose for over two hours is not very entertaining. Granted, the idea was to tell a story based on a real person’s life. The question is why? Why not use the funds to tell a story that’s uplifting? MOVIEGUIDE® recommends extreme caution regarding GANDHI, MY FATHER simply because the movie offers no solution, just tragedy after tragedy.

Content:

(PaPa, FRFR, C, VV, S, N, AAA, MM) Confused pagan worldview with false religious elements including a false conversion to Islam to get money and then back to Hinduism, but one favorable remark made about Christianity; no foul language; newsreel riots shown, an unknown black man whipped in a jail scene, but no physical violence between main characters; main character visits prostitute, nothing shown, but many such visits implied; upper male nudity; heavy alcohol use, little actual drinking shown but drunkenness and stumbling in multiple scenes; no smoking; and, major character swindles people out of money and even converts to Islam for monetary gain.

More Detail:

The generation that follows a very successful father or mother can often be a monumental disappointment. This has proven true countless times in the United States, and GANDHI, MY FATHER shows that it can be true around the world.

The movie shows Mahatma Gandhi to be less than a wonderful father, but it clearly shows his son Harilil to be a failure at anything but emptying liquor bottles. The movie opens with Harilil getting married against his father’s wishes. He then follows his father to South Africa where he joins his father in non-violent resistance. His father repeatedly refuses him a much-desired scholarship to study law in England. Harilil follows his wife and children back to India where the name Gandhi is increasingly worshiped. Harilil fails as a student, flops as a businessman and seems incapable of holding down a job. When he no longer gets money from his parents and can no longer raise legitimate money off the name Gandhi, he converts to Islam to get money from Muslims who consider it good publicity that a Gandhi converted. He later returns to his Hindu beliefs but never seems capable of staying away from prostitutes and alcohol.

At first the movie appears to make Mahatma Gandhi look like an uncaring father, but as the long story unfolds Harilil shows himself to be a hopeless loser. There comes a point where you must quit blaming your parents, suck it up and make something out of your life. Ideally you repent, get saved, forgive your parents, and live by God’s guidance – free of prostitutes and alcohol.

The acting and production quality in this movie are good. There is no foul language and only a hint of sex and violence, but watching a big loser continue to lose for over two hours is not very entertaining. Granted, the idea was to tell a story based on a real person’s life. The question is why? Why not use the funds to tell a story that’s uplifting?

At one point early in the movie, Gandhi finds his son reading a romance novel. He recommends reading biographies of great men. It would be nice to see more movies made about great men and women. Sadly, it’s a rare thing.

MOVIEGUIDE® recommends extreme caution regarding GANDHI, MY FATHER simply because the movie offers no solution, just tragedy after tragedy and shows the main character dabbling in false pagan religious.

Mahatma Gandhi himself spent his life opposing British rule and the racist laws enforced in many colonies. To his horror, the departure of the British resulted in riots, slaughters and corrupt government. It even led to his own assassination. As easy as it is to criticize colonial governors, it is dangerous to toss them out because they often brought with them Christian principles. Basic rights and responsibilities were protected by law (flawed, yes – racist, at times – but better than the tribalism that they often replaced). America’s revolution succeeded because those staging the revolution sought to build their new nation on Christian principles. Godless revolutions in contrast, such as the revolution in Zimbabwe, often devastate once wealthy and peaceful nations.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.