Gandhi: 25 Years On

18 December 08

Twenty five years after its release, the Academy celebrates Lord Attenborough's Gandhi by reuniting cast and crew from the award-wining film.

© Frank Connor Exclusive on-set Gallery
View exclusive on-set photos from the filming of Gandhi as well as images from the film's triumph at the British Academy Film Awards in 1983.
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BAFTA Archive Gandhi Archive Clips
Watch exclusive archive footage of Richard Attenborough accepting the Best Film and Director BAFTAs at the British Academy Film Awards in 1983.
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On its release in 1982, Gandhi was greeted with both public and critical acclaim. Director and producer Richard Attenborough, working to John Briley's script, had succeeded in telling the story of one of the most extraordinary figures of the twentieth century.

Gandhi was premiered in London on 3 December 1982 and went on to win five BAFTAs from nine nominations. Twenty-five years on, BAFTA reunited the cast and crew for a unique event to celebrating the film and its enduring legacy.

Coming Soon: Watch key members of the cast and crew discuss their experiences of working on the film and how this historic piece of cinema changed their lives.

Highlights include actor Ben Kingsley talking about the challenge of embodying the iconic leader and director Richard Attenborough on the challenges of filming the famous funeral scene with an estimated 400,000 extras.

Reunions: Gandhi, 25 Years On
Watch contributions from...

Richard Attenborough (Director and Producer)
Ben Kingsley (Actor, Gandhi)
Jack Briley (Writer)
John Bloom (Editor)
Jake Eberts (Producer)
Saeed Jaffery (Actor, Sardar Valabhai Patel)
Simon Kaye (Sound Recordist)
Geraldine James (Actress, Meerabahen)
Stuart Craig (Production Designer)
Billy Williams (Cinematographer)

More about the Film

A biographical epic, the film traces the major moments in the life of lawyer Mohandas K Gandhi (later known as "Mahatma", or "great soul"), from early protests in South Africa to leading India's movement against British colonial rule through a philosophy of non-violent resistance. The film ends with the post-war partition of India and Pakistan and, finally, Gandhi's assassination on 30 January 1948.

"No man's life can be encompassed in one telling," states the film's opening scene. "What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record of his journey, and to try to find one's way to the heart of the man…"

Amongst many fine performances, it is Ben Kingsley’s nuanced and emotive depiction of the Mahatma himself that stands out. Both Alec Guinness and Anthony Hopkins were originally considered for the role but Attenborough went with the relatively unknown actor of part Indian heritage (his paternal family was from Gujarat, the same state as Gandhi). Kingsley looked so much like the Mahatma that many Indians thought him to be his ghost. An estimated 400,000 extras turned out for the filming of the funeral scene that opens the film – a testament to the film’s power and Gandhi’s lasting legacy.

Gandhi remains one of the UK’s most successful films. The production won both domestic and international acclaim, picking-up five BAFTAs from nine nominations including best Film and Direction, Actress in a Supporting Role (for Rohini Hattangadi’s depiction of Gandhi’s wife) and two awards for Kingsley. It also went on to win eight Oscars (from 11 nominations).

The film continues to have a lasting impact, bringing the teachings and wisdom of Gandhi to an audience of millions: “Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail.”