The Gandhi Murder - based on verified facts, The Gandhi Murder chronicles the events that led to the assassination of the messiah of non-violence in the backdrop of a nation that was getting fast disillusioned with his philosophy. Right wing Hindu fundamentalism was growing through a scathing criticism of the Gandhi-Nehru policy of the new governance and the wounds from the not so old partition were getting worse with the government's alleged apathy towards the refugees. Hardliners were making their objectives clear and a civil war raged.
The assassination was perhaps inevitable and the country's intelligence knew it. The question was how long could the police defer the outcome, and were those responsible for the protection unbiased in their duties as well?
The Gandhi Murder makes a compelling watching as it takes over from where Sir Richard Attenborough left it and puts the Mahatma and his progress behind the scenes. This is about the hardliners and the police in a cat and mouse chase. It's intriguing to know that the police pretty much knew who the core conspirators were (Vishnu Karkare, Nathuram Godse, Madanlal, Nana), but were perhaps undecided whether to prevent them from the action wholeheartedly. Stephen Lang and Luke Pasqualino as DIG Sunil Raina and Inspector Jimmy Batliwala make a strong impact. Govind Namdeo in a dual role breathes fire. Om Puri and Avtaar Gill support well.
The subject is fantastic but the treatment falls short of calling it a polished venture. The editing is quite tacky as it appears that pieces have been clumsily put together. The pace is uneven, at times it is brisk and at others, it's dead slow. With a running time of 120 minutes there's a lot going on in there, but directors Karim Traïdia and Pankaj Sehgal probably didn't balance the proceedings and pace well enough. It's a sadly lost opportunity for a potential masterpiece.
