Narayan: "What would happen to us in the next life if Gandhi calls out to Rama, and we have killed him? We will be vile things in the next life."
Nathu: "He will not call out to Rama, I swear! He will not." With a look of doubt on his face.
He was Gandhi's admirer in his early years but then under the influence of VD Savarkar he came to disapprove of Gandhiji's 'non-violence' ideology and became a devotee of hindutva.(which is currently in vogue, gradually preponderating). He had an affair with a married woman who was Gandhiji's follower and one of the what-if conjecture is that if she had agreed to run away with him just before he was to reach Birla house, Gandhiji would have lived 135 years !!!!
This movie is based on a book by Stanley Wolpert's that was published in 1962 but soon after was banned in India. The Nehruvian india also banned the movie. The possible reasons could be because Gandhi appears only in few pages of the book and the movie shows some alcohol and sex-driven account of Godse. But the government's failure could also be one of the reasons as they did have an intel of a possible assassin but still they failed to enforce additional security measures. Why were the fence around the Birla House and the compound not secured and monitored ????
The movie was made in 1963... Horst Bucholtz's (The Magnificent Seven fame) performance is well-fitting. However, the most cast including protagonist and principal characters are being played by white people with faces painted brown!!!! Why??? No English speaking actor was available back then? How about Sanjeev Kumar??? Tongue-in-cheek ...
J S Kashyap is a perfect choice for the Gandhi role.. and he shines even his screen presence is limited to only few brief moments ..
Many prominent Gandhians including my grandfather who was very close to Sardar Patel requested clemency for the Godse. As Gandhiji too was in favor of abolishing the death penalty. However, since death penalty still existed at the time, it was just fair to sentence him as justice must prevail!
Do you know that Nathuram Godse's niece was married to Veer Savarkar's nephew?
"It is because I have failed that you both (police superintendent and killer (Godse ) carry a gun. The weakest possess the most strength! Humility is power and non-violence will conquer over the violence though it will take thousand years. Woukd you like me to linger around fir another thousand years? " - Gandhiji
Watch Nine Hours to Rama, available on YouTube.
