Ben Kingsley in Gandhi (1982)<BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Ironically, one of the first films on the father of Indian nation was made by a foreign filmmaker. From this very fact one can imagine how intriguing was the story of Gandhiji that a prolific filmmaker as big as Richard Attenborough was fascinated to make a film on his life history. (For the uninitiated, Attenborough is the same man who played John Hammond in Jurassic Park, the brainchild behind the park). <BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Ben Kingsley who was a TV star till 1982, made his big screen debut with Gandhi and put in a spell-binding performance in the title role. Despite being of British origin his portrayal of Gandhi fighting against the Britishers in India was so impressive that Kingsley even won the Best Actor Oscar award for the film. His face was an apt choice to remind you of Gandhi. <BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>It took one remarkable man to defeat the British Empire and free a nation of 350 million people.<br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>His goal was freedom for India. <BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>His strategy was peace. <BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>His weakness was his humanity. <BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Gandhi � His triumph changed the world forever. <BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>This was in short, the theme or in long, the tagline of the film. <BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>The film begins with the assassination of Gandhi and then his huge funeral procession. The movie then flashes back to the young Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley) in South Africa where he fights against the injustice on the Indians and subsequently turns to the non-violent fight against Britishers in India. <BR><BR><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>The film also starred notable Indian names like Roshan Seth (as Nehru), Saeed Jaffery (as Sardar Patel), Alyque Padamsee (as Mohammed Ali Jinnah), Rohini Hattangadi (as Kasturba Gandhi), Virendra Razdan (as Maulana Azad) and Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Alok Nath and Neena Gupta among others.