Review: Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh fails to deliver the unique & brave concept it intends to that is 'ideology clash

Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh

Rajkumar Santoshi, one of the best storytellers of our time, makes a comeback after nine years with "Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh," a concept that is not only brave to even touch upon but also gives it a twist of its own where you never know whose nerve you would be tickling. In this imaginary world of Santoshi, 'Gandhi' survives the assassination attempt on him by Nathuram Godse and transcends us into a land of war, a clash between their ideologies. So this is how Santoshi's parallel world looks like.

The Plot

We are living in a parallel world where, what would have conceivably happened if Mahatma Gandhi had survived Nathuram Godse's three bullet shots is probed in this fictional and hypothetical political drama directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. This misguided assumption that "Mahatma Gandhi was the one who intended this partition" sets off Nathuram Godse (played by Chinmay Mandlekar), who then grows increasingly driven to plot the assassination of Mahatma. While Godse denotes the communists, who want to paint the entire nation with the so called 'Hindutva' phenomena, Gandhi leads the liberals, who wish to coexist peacefully.

Eventually, the two find themselves confined together in the same cell, where they engage in a number of discussions and exchanges of ideas in an effort to comprehend one another's perspectives. 

The not-so-required love angle

Santoshi attempted to include a subplot—a love story between Sushma and Naren—while the entire conflict of ideologies was being presented in the storyline. It boasted a similar feel to a patch of fabric used to repair a ripped garment. There isn't much of a point to it, and it might have been avoided or, even better, skillfully incorporated into the screenplay so that it doesn't feel forced.

The screenplay and treatment

When Santoshi tries to convey all of it onto the big screen, he starts losing control. A movie about the struggle of ideas arrives at its overarching plotline too late. Sometimes while addressing a matter, without delving too far, Gandhi and Godse reach an understanding too swiftly to contradict the impression that their points of view are completely opposite. 

The movie examines Gandhi's celibacy and exposes Godse's blind love for a specific community, but it also diminishes their divergent political views to a simple behavioral conflict that could be remedied via conversation. To insinuate that Godse would  save Gandhi from another attempted assassination after spending time with him in a jail cell blatantly weakens the significance of the ideology clash. 

The Performances

Deepak Antani, who has had the honour of portraying Gandhi in more than 100 plays, fits the part aptly. It is pleasant to watch him play Gandhi. He offered every detail of his performance seamlessly. The mannerism displayed was on fleek. 

Chinmay Mandlekar as Nathuram Godse served his purpose to the T, but his acting felt more dramatized than keeping it raw. Neverthless, his screen presence was remarkable. 

Tanisha Santoshi's debut only shows, she has a long way to go. The only thing we could see was the tickling tears on her face and her not-so-sincere attempt to portray the emotions. It got weird after a point, because we couldn't actually make out which emotion is she trying to pull off. 

The setting and music

Style-wise, the historical era is depicted through the usage of brown-yellow hues. Production designer Dhananjay Mondal and cinematographer Rishi Punjabi put out their decent work. Some of the jail sequences, especially the shots when Godse and Gandhi are in the  jail and are portrayed in the dilm lighting, leaves an impact.

Vaishnav Jan To and Raghupati Raghav both amps up the emotions thanks to AR Rahman's music. 

The Verdict

Rajkumar Santoshi makes a super brave attempt with his imaginary world of 'Gandhi and Godse' discussing their ideologies, which is backed by great performances, but falters to package it well with evident loopholes and a weak screenplay. 

Rating: ** (2/5) stars