GANDHI (1982) Ben Kingsley | Martin Sheen | Candice Bergen – Fri July 31, 6pm at The Park Theatre

Tickets $10/$9

Gandhi is a 1982 epic biographical film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, with a screenplay by John Briley. It chronicles the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley), from his early experiences with racial discrimination in South Africa in the 1890s—where he first develops his philosophy of nonviolent resistance (satyagraha)—through his leadership in India’s independence movement against British rule. The film depicts key events like the Salt March, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, periods of imprisonment and fasting, and the partition of India, culminating in Gandhi’s assassination in 1948. It emphasizes themes of nonviolence, religious tolerance, and human dignity, featuring massive crowd scenes (including one with over 300,000 extras for the funeral) and a sweeping historical scope.

The film is widely praised for its production values, costume design, and especially Kingsley’s transformative performance, which earned him an Oscar. It won eight Academy Awards total, including Best Picture and Best Director. Runtime is 191 minutes. It is rated PG by the MPAA (for some violence and thematic elements, including depictions of massacres and civil unrest).

Principal Cast (selected):

• Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi
• Rohini Hattangadi as Kasturba Gandhi
• Roshan Seth as Jawaharlal Nehru
• Saeed Jaffrey as Vallabhbhai Patel
• Candice Bergen as Margaret Bourke-White
• Martin Sheen as Vince Walker
• Edward Fox as General Dyer
• John Gielgud as Viceroy Lord Irwin (and many others including Trevor Howard, John Mills, Geraldine James, and Alyque Padamsee as Muhammad Ali Jinnah).

Major Crew:

• Director/Producer: Richard Attenborough
• Writer: John Briley
• Cinematography: Billy Williams, Ronnie Taylor
• Editor: John Bloom
• Music: Ravi Shankar, George Fenton.

Review Quotes:

• Roger Ebert: “This is the sort of rare epic film that spans the decades, that uses the proverbial cast of thousands, and yet follows a human thread from beginning to end.”
• Rotten Tomatoes consensus: “Director Richard Attenborough is typically sympathetic and sure-handed, but it’s Ben Kingsley’s magnetic performance that acts as the linchpin for this sprawling, lengthy biopic.”

It remains a landmark historical drama and one of the most acclaimed biopics ever made.