Image: Raj Ghat memorial, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0, photo by Humayunn Niaz Ahmed Peerzaada.
The name Richard Attenborough is closely associated with Gandhi, but the film’s early history includes another figure whose contribution is less widely remembered: Motilal Kothari.
A meeting in 1962
The British Film Institute says Attenborough’s dedication to Gandhi began in 1962, when he met Motilal Kothari. Kothari was a devotee of Gandhi and wanted to use cinema to communicate the Mahatma’s life and work.
At the time, a major Gandhi film was far from guaranteed. Attenborough had not yet established himself as the director of an international epic, and people around him questioned whether Gandhi’s complex life could be successfully presented in a feature film.
Keeping the idea alive
The BFI describes Kothari as dogged in his support of the project. That persistence mattered because the film faced years of financial and creative obstacles.
Attenborough’s own associates were sceptical. Some believed the story was simply too large for a single film. Yet the director continued pursuing the project through changes in financing, casting and screenwriting.
From idea to production
It took about twenty years before financing finally materialised. Canadian producer Jake Eberts of Goldcrest Films International helped assemble the financial package, while India’s National Film Development Corporation became a substantial investor.
The project then moved from a long period of development into a large-scale production filmed in India.
Kothari’s place in film history
When audiences remember Gandhi, they often think first of Ben Kingsley, Richard Attenborough or the enormous funeral scene. Kothari represents an earlier stage of the story: the person who helped encourage the idea that Gandhi’s life could become a major motion picture.
His role is a reminder that major films often begin long before cameras roll. They can depend on people who persuade others to take an ambitious idea seriously.
Read the BFI’s biography of Attenborough’s Gandhi journey and the BFI programme notes.
For another NewsNationOnline perspective on Gandhi’s legacy, read our feature on his efforts for Hindu-Muslim unity.
आपके लिए सुझाव
