Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara

Plot summary

The film explores the downward spiral of a retired Hindi professor, Uttam Chaudhary, (portrayed by Anupam Kher) as he falls victim to dementia. After he sees someone carelessly place an ash tray on a newspaper photograph of Mohandas Gandhi, his senility increases. One night his daughter Trisha, played by Urmila Matondkar, and son Karan discover his room on fire. Trisha takes him to a doctor who says nothing can be done.

Then Uttam believes he killed Gandhi by accidentally playing with a toy gun which had real bullets and shooting Gandhi during his walk in Birla House. So they go see Uttam's brother for details. Uttam's brother says that when they were young, they played darts by filling ballons with red dye and placing it on someone's picture.

One day someone found Gandhi's picture and Uttam popped a ballon while their father saw who believed he killed Gandhi, with Uttam replying "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" while his father hit him. Later they go to another doctor named Siddharth (Parvin Dabas) who helps Uttam when he thinks that his house is jail and people poisoned his food because he killed Gandhi. Siddharth eats the food so Uttam knows the food is not poisoned. Later,in court, a gun expert says that a toy gun (which Uttam believes he killed Gandhi with) cannot kill anyone.

Response

The movie did not do well at the box office. However, it was much appreciated by audiences and critics. Anupam Kher received critical acclaim for his performance and won a Special Jury Award at the National Film Awards. He also received awards at several international film festivals. Matondkar was also much appreciated for playing the caring daughter of Kher and won the Bollywood Movie Award - Best Actress for her performance.

Cast