# Gandhi (film)

Gandhi is a 1982 film about the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British through his philosophy of non-violent protest.
    Directed by Richard Attenborough. Written by John Briley.

## Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

* I was called to the bar in London, and enrolled at the High Court of Chancery. I am, therefore, an attorney. And, since I am in your eyes coloured, I think we can deduce that there is at least one coloured attorney in South Africa.
* In this cause, I too am prepared to die, but my friends, there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. Whatever they do to us, we will attack no one, kill no one. They will imprison us; they will fine us; they will seize our possessions; but they cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them. I am asking you to fight against their anger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow, but we will receive them; and through our pain, we will make them see their injustice. And it will hurt, as all fighting hurts. But we cannot lose. They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me-then they will have my dead body, not my obedience.
* 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. Think of it: always.
* An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
* We think it is time that you recognized that you are masters in someone else's home. Despite the best intentions of the best of you, you must, in the nature of things, humiliate us to control us. General Dyer is but an extreme example of the principle... it is time you left.
* I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you.
* The function of a civil resistance is to provoke response and we will continue to provoke until they respond or change the law. They are not in control; we are.
* If you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
* (dying words) Oh God.

## Others

* Lord Irwin, Viceroy: Mr. Gandhi will find that it takes a great deal more than a pinch of salt to bring down the British Empire.
* Edward R. Murrow: [at Gandhi's funeral] The object of this massive tribute died as he had always lived - a private man without wealth, without property, without official title or office. Mahatma Gandhi was not the commander of great armies nor a ruler of vast lands. He could not boast any scientific achievement or artistic gift. Yet men, governments and dignitaries from all over the world have joined hands today to pay homage to this little brown man in the loincloth who led his country to freedom. In the words of General George C. Marshall, the American Secretary of State, "Mahatma Gandhi had become the spokesman for the conscience of all mankind. He was a man who made humility and simple truth more powerful than empires." And Albert Einstein added, "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever, in flesh and blood, walked upon this Earth."

## Dialogue

    Gandhi: [in South Africa] You mean you can appoint Mr. Baker as your attorney but you can't walk down the street with him?
    Khan: Well, I can, but I risk being kicked into the gutter by someone less holy than Mr. Baker.
    Vince Walker: You're an ambitious man, Mr. Gandhi.
    Gandhi: I hope not.
    Colonel: [moments before the Amritsar Massacre] Should we issue a warning, sir?
    Gen. Dyer: They've had their warning. No meetings. [pause] Fire!
    Government Advocate: General Dyer, is it correct that you ordered your troops to fire at the thickest part of the crowd?
    Gen. Dyer: That is so.
    Government Advocate: 1,516 casualties with 1,650 bullets.
    Gen. Dyer: My intention was to inflict a lesson that would have an impact throughout all India.
    Indian Barrister: General, had you been able to take in the armoured car, would you have opened fire with the machine gun?
    Gen. Dyer: I think, probably – yes.
    Lord Hunter: General, did you realise there were children – and women – in the crowd?
    Gen. Dyer: I did.
    Government Advocate: But that was irrelevant to the point you were making?
    Gen. Dyer: That is correct.
    Government Advocate: Could I ask you what provision you made for the wounded?
    Gen. Dyer: I was ready to help any who applied.
    Government Advocate: General, how does a child, shot with a .303 Lee Enfield, "apply" for help?
    Kinnoch: With respect, Mr. Gandhi, without British administration, this country would be reduced to chaos.
    Gandhi: Mr. Kinnoch, I beg you to accept that there is no people on Earth who would not prefer their own bad government to the good government of an alien power.
    Brigadier: My dear sir! India is British. We're hardly "an alien power"!
    Sardar Patel: Bapuji, the whole country is moving.
    Gandhi: Yes. but in what direction?
    Vince Walker: I met him once.
    Collins: You mean Gandhi?
    Vince Walker: Yeah, in South Africa, a long time ago. I wonder if he'll recognise me.
    Collins: What was he like?
    Vince Walker: He had a full head of hair then. We were a bit like college students, trying to figure everything out.
    Collins: Well, he must have found some of the answers!
    Mohammed Jinnah: [After the Hindu-Muslim rioting all over India] You are the father of the nation.
    Gandhi: Today, I see no ground in that for anything but shame.
    Nahari: I'm going to Hell! I killed a child! I smashed his head against a wall.
    Gandhi: Why?
    Nahari: Because they killed my son! The Muslims killed my son!
    Gandhi: I know a way out of Hell. Find a child, a child whose mother and father were killed and raise him as your own. Only be sure that he is a Muslim and that you raise him as one.
    Gandhi: You're a temptress.
    Margaret Bourke-White: Just an admirer!
    Gandhi: Nothing is more dangerous, especially for an old man.

## Taglines

* His Triumph Changed The World Forever.
* The Man of the Century. The Motion Picture of a Lifetime.
* A WORLD EVENT It took one remarkable man to defeat the British Empire and free a nation of 350 million people. His goal was freedom for India. His strategy was peace. His weapon was his humanity.

## Cast

* Ben Kingsley - Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi
* Roshan Seth - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
* Candice Bergen - Margaret Bourke-White
* Edward Fox - Gen. Reginald Dyer
* John Gielgud - Lord Irwin
* Trevor Howard - Judge Broomfield
* John Mills - Lord Chelmsford
* Martin Sheen - Vince Walker
* Ian Charleson - Rev. Charlie Andrews
* Athol Fugard - Gen. Jan Christiaan Smuts
* Günther Maria Halmer - Dr. Herman Kallenbach
* Saeed Jaffrey - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
* Geraldine James - Mirabehn
* Alyque Padamsee - Muhammad Ali Jinnah
* Amrish Puri - Kahn

## External links

* Gandhi quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* Gandhi at Rotten Tomatoes