As Manoj Bajpayee steps into Gandhi’s shoes, other actors who brought the Mahatma to life on screen
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi remains one of the most interpreted historical figures in cinema and television. Following the announcement that Manoj Bajp…
1/12Ben Kingsley | In Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-sweeping biographical epic Gandhi (1982), he delivered a career-defining, Academy Award-winning performance, capturing the leader’s ascetic discipline, moral stature, and mass appeal to set the definitive global benchmark for on-screen portrayals.
2/12Rajit Kapur | In Shyam Benegal’s biographical feature The Making of the Mahatma (1996), based on Fatima Meer’s book The Apprenticeship of a Mahatma, he portrayed Gandhi’s formative 21 years as a suited South African barrister forging the foundations of Satyagraha, winning the National Film Award for Best Actor for his nuanced performance.
3/12Annu Kapoor | In Ketan Mehta’s acclaimed political biopic Sardar (1993), he brought quiet dignity and sharp tactical poise to Gandhi, portraying his crucial ideological debates and strategic compromises alongside Paresh Rawal’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel during the transfer of power.
4/12Mohan Gokhale | In Jabbar Patel’s bilingual biographical drama Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000), the late actor delivered an earnest, dignified portrayal of Gandhi, highlighting the intense historical friction over separate electorates, the Poona Pact, and caste representation.
5/12Naseeruddin Shah | In Kamal Haasan’s partition-era alternate-history thriller Hey Ram (2000), he delivered a soft-spoken, emotionally fragile, yet morally stubborn Gandhi, capturing his radical insistence on communal harmony while navigating violent political unrest in Delhi.
6/12Surendra Rajan | In Rajkumar Santoshi’s period drama The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), he brought an uncanny physical resemblance to the role, depicting Gandhi’s unbending political resolve and moral friction with the British Raj as well as the armed revolutionary movement.
7/12Dilip Prabhavalkar | In Rajkumar Hirani’s blockbuster comedy-drama Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), he appeared as a warm, imaginary moral guide to Sanjay Dutt’s Munna, transforming abstract philosophy into accessible civic action and sparking the nationwide pop-culture phenomenon of ‘Gandhigiri’.
8/12Darshan Jariwala | In Feroz Abbas Khan’s poignant domestic drama Gandhi, My Father (2007), he earned a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor by de-mythifying the leader, exploring the painful tragedy of a father whose rigid public moral standards alienated his eldest son, Harilal.
9/12Neeraj Kabi | In Shyam Benegal’s 10-part historical mini-series Samvidhaan: The Making of the Constitution of India (2014), he underwent a meticulous physical transformation to portray an older, contemplative Gandhi serving as the ideological backdrop to India’s constituent debates.
10/12Deepak Antani | In Rajkumar Santoshi’s counterfactual drama Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh (2023), drawing on his record-setting stage experience playing the Mahatma, he portrayed a sharp, articulate Gandhi who survives the 1948 assassination attempt to engage in direct ideological debate with his assassin.
11/12Chirag Vohra | In Nikkhil Advani’s historical drama series Freedom at Midnight (2024), adapted from the book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, he dropped significant weight and mastered Gandhi’s mannerisms to depict the leader’s emotional anguish and political calculations during Partition.
12/12Pratik Gandhi | Having earned acclaim on stage for the biographical solo play Mohan No Masalo, he portrays the leader across an epic multi-continent canvas in Hansal Mehta’s web series Gandhi, adapted from Ramachandra Guha’s biographical volumes to chronicle his evolution from student barrister to the Mahatma.
Original source: https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/
