'For the longest time, he was not an activist.'
'He was just trying to build his own self-identity, self-respect and ambition.'
Rediff Senior Contributor Aseem Chhabra speaks to Hansal Mehta, Sameer Nair, Pratik Gandhi and his actress wife Bhamini Oza about their show Gandhi, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The first season of the Gandhi series -- Mohan -- is based on Ramchandra Guha's 2013 book Gandhi Before India. The second and third seasons will be based on Guha's book Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World.
"You will see that the entire story is of 'what ifs'?" says Sameer.
"What if he didn't go to London to study law because the family was against it? What if he studied in London and didn't return? What if he came back and he did become the diwan of Porbandar? What if he became a successful lawyer in Bombay? Any of those possibilities could have ended up in a very different history and a very different future."
Gandhi was a regular, flawed human being.
Hansal: But he had the power that all of us have, to confront your fears, flaws, your contradictions. He was argumentative.
Sameer: You will also see that the entire story is of 'what ifs'?
What if he didn't go to London to study law because the family was against it?
What if he studied in London and didn't return because it felt indulgent? He could have stayed back.
What if he came back and that incident didn't happen and he did become the diwan of Porbandar?
What if he became a successful lawyer in Bombay?
Then South Africa would not have happened.
Any of those possibilities could have ended up in a very different history and a very different future. Because for the longest time, he was not an activist.
He was just trying to build his own self-identity, self-respect and ambition.
Pratik and Bhamini, what did it take for you both to become Mohan and Kasturba?
Pratik: Our biggest research or the biggest challenge was an internal shift.
We were not supposed to look at these two characters as Mahatmas and great people.
We were supposed to humanise them in our mind.
Everything is written, but the way I processed the emotions that I had to create were supposed to be a common man's emotions.
I was creating Mohan as an enthusiastic, earnest and honest person.
He had different dreams for life, but kept failing.
The only superpower he had, which I guess he discovered later, was that every time he failed, he had the guts to get up and go on.
Bhamini, have I seen you in any films before?
Bhamini: Not really. I have only done three films, but very tiny characters. They were in Gujarati and Hindi.
So this is your first big break.
Bhamini: Yes, it is one thing that every actor waits for, ki aisa kuch mille jis main satisfaction bhi ho.
You are very good in it. But the entire supporting cast is fantastic.
Hansal: Shakyra Dowling did the international casting. We were able to cast Tom Felton, who became famous playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.
He has grown up and is much nicer here.
Hansal: He's still recognisable.
We had more than 100 odd international actors and all very fine actors.
We got actors from British stage, South African actors.
One trivia: The guy who plays Dada Abdulla, the trader who first invites Gandhi to South Africa, is played by Rohini Hattangadi's son Aseem Hattangadi (Rohini Hattangadi played Kasturba Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi).
Where are did you shoot the show?
Hansal: Predominantly in India and UK. The South Africa scenes were recreated in India.
Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria are no longer what they used to be in those years, and to recreate that on those streets would be impossible.
Sameer, what are your plans? When are you going to stream the first season?
Sameer: We wanted to have a prestigious showcase and TIFF was the best place to show it. The response was very good.
Hansal: TIFF is not like other European festivals, where people usually leave after the screening, but here, the audience stood up and clapped.
I was overwhelmed to see a TIFF audience responding to an Indian show.
Many people reacted to the fact that most of our crew was Indian.
If you see shows directed by Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta and Richie Mehta, most of their crew is international. But we were able to show what an Indian crew is capable of doing.
Of course, we had a great collaboration with the international team. They really helped us.
Sameer: To answer your question, we will go back and complete the first season, screen it and then license it to the right platform.
I remember you were on a panel at the Cinevesture International Film Festival in Chandigarh. So the reason Applause first completes the show and then you approach platforms is because you don't want anyone to dictate while you are making the show?
Sameer: I think 'dictate' is a strong term.
In working like this, the platforms get to see the complete project.
All the heavy lifting is done.
They just have to make the decision to buy or not to buy.
I always want to limit the number of cooks in the kitchen.
When Hansal and I work, we are the only cooks, and we are able to pursue our passion.
We worked the same way with Scam 1992 and I followed the same model with Black Warrant.
I built Applause Entertainment with Kumaramangalam Birla. He's our patron saint. Because of him, we are able to put our money where our mouth is. We are able to invest in the creative passion of our collaborators.
