I'm watching the movie Gandhi for the first time ever.

[Bouncy Ball]

And I had no idea it was this fascinating.

GO GANDHI!!!!

[jonnyblitz]

1. it's a long one..

but very good.

[Bouncy Ball]

3. I started it with just enough time to see the whole thing

before my hair appointment, LOL!

It's the uncut version, too, 3 hours, 10 minutes.

[trof]

2. The guy who played Ghandi?

Can't remember his name now. I think it was his first big roll.
He's come a long way.
It is a fascinating movie.

[Bouncy Ball]

4. Ben Kingsley

He's fantastic. I somehow always thought the whole movie covered the last few years of his life, I didn't know it started when he was a young attorney.

[bloodyjack]

5. Did you get to the part where Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose

engage eachother in an epic shootout?

It's pretty awesome

[Bouncy Ball]

6. No, I'm only about 10-15 minutes into it.

They just burned their passes and he was beaten and arrested for the first time.

[burythehatchet]

7. My favorite movie ever about my greatest hero

you'll love the movie. Quit posting!!

If you like the music, the soundtrack is quite good as well.

[Bouncy Ball]

9. LOL, I do have to quit posting now

because this is so damn fascinating. He's said so many quotable things already.

Martin Sheen is in this???? Had no idea.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. subhash chandra bose is my hero....he could have saved us.

[bloodyjack]

13. He was a great personality

I think he was spotted as many as 15 yrs ago in or around Kolkata

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. i think it is too.....your family is from orissa right?

[bloodyjack]

15. Kerala, actually

My parents had to leave because of NAXALITE OPPRESSION

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. yikes! sorry....the naxal movement was weird.....really bizzare

[bloodyjack]

19. They didn't really leave because of that

But the headmaster at my mom's school was decapitated and his head (lol) placed at the school's entrance (edit: granted, from what my mom tells me, the fellow constantly mistreated his tenants and probably had it coming...things had really come to a head (lol))

My parents actually left because of the numerous land reforms which, while probably serving the greater good, effectively pauperized us

[La Lioness Priyanka]

20. closest thing we have had to the full blown revolution

due to economic oppression


in my belief we are due for another :scared:

[bloodyjack]

21. How do you figure?

From what I've read, things are proceeding just SWIMMINGLY in the motherland, in spite of crippling poverty, ~60% nationwide literacy rate, and enthralling Indo-Pak cricket matches.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. cos i go back to india all the time...only the rich and upper middle class

are making money...

even in a non-violent city like calcutta crime (even violent crime) is on the rise

the difference between the rich and the poor are monumental and we are also losing our own culture (which i think serves to atleast quiten revolt)....


thats what makes me say i think a backlash is coming

[bloodyjack]

24. Isn't popular fear of encroaching western values

partially what led to the ascent of the BJP? And didn't they fail to deliver? Because I honestly can't see Congress doing any better.

So what do you see happening? Something along the lines of Iran circa '79? A popular resurgence of Hindu nationalism? Looting, pillaging, expurgation of Muslim influence? that sort of thing?


(Was most of the Indian electorate a little reluctant to have as PM an Italian whose knowledge of Hindi was elementary at best and whose only qualifications were her connections to the Nehru dynasty and her old job as a stewardess?)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. i am very against the nehru dynasty,...always have been

as is my whole family...dont know about most indians though...

i see a revolution and mass murders....fairly soon....esp in places where the rich arent afraid of flaunting their wealth

[bloodyjack]

26. Wow.

I must say, Indian news media has a different, far rosier perspective on social stability—the last thing they would ever discuss is the prospect of a popular uprising. But you're right, a LOT of people have been left behind by the dramatic liberalisation of the Indian economy.

My parents don't care much for the Nehru dynasty either, but they were still a little sad when Indira Gandhi got blown up

[La Lioness Priyanka]

27. well i dont like a lot of people but dont want them to blow up either

i am sure your parents are nice people who dont like violence too much.

i think the upper and middle classes are in utter denial of the brewing anger\

as long as the lower classes are having their anger re-directed (to muslims or hindus etc) we should be ok (in the sense that there wont be a revolution)

however once the distractions run out, i think it wont be very pretty

[Bouncy Ball]

28. I don't want to butt in

but I've found this conversation very interesting, as I know very little about today's government in India.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

29. sorry to hijack your thread

(though i am kinda proud of myself for not turning this into a gandhi flame thread)

[Bouncy Ball]

30. No, no no apologies required

I have really liked reading this!

I didn't realize there was any chance of flames on this subject.....

[La Lioness Priyanka]

31. i hate gandhi...so yes flames are possible

[Bouncy Ball]

32. Oh!

Um, I don't really have any emotional investment either way, so I'd be curious to know why, if you don't mind. You won't get any flames from me, just curiousity.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

33. many reasons....

he delayed indias freedom by 20 years...being the main one.

[bloodyjack]

34. by no means was I accusing your family of rejoicing at the explosive news

of Indira Gandhi's death, coldhearted witch though she was. I was just implying that a lot of Indian emigres didn't care much for her brand of governance

I have to agree with you about factional violence eventually losing its novelty, at which point the shit will begin hitting the fan in places like Gujurat or Bihar or UP or wherever (not coincidentally states w/ low literacy and employment rates--so perhaps public education simply needs to be expanded and improved upon along w/ creation of more manufacturing jobs to quell the possibility of violent revolution?)

On the other hand, a state like Kerala which boasts a high literacy rate AND a high unemployment rate doesn't really have too many problems w/ factional violence as long as people keep voting socialist and going on strike for longer lunch breaks

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. ohh i didnt think you were accusing me on anything.....

i think shit will hit mostly in bihar, up, gujarat and in large cities in the north. (like you mentioned)


calcutta used to be like kerala but sadly we lost it :(

[bloodyjack]

36. Well, Bengalis and Keralites still seem to be involved in

a dubious love affair w/ socialism (what I mean is that it didn't work in the past and I doubt it would work today)

according to these here internets, the urbanization ratios for Kerala and W Bengal are roughly the same (though we all know this is clearly no indicator of progress)

And, really, W Bengal's literacy rate isn't that bad compared to other states

But I have to ask, where do you think Calcutta went wrong?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

37. we kept electing the same chief minister

for 20 years, way after he was already corrupt

[bloodyjack]

40. LOL

Gotcha

[bloodyjack]

42. I do think a Gandhi flame thread

would be a good idea (and great fun too)...as he DID have a lot of bad ideas about the future of India and too many people fancy him to be some sort of modern-day saint

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. while i agree with you

the last time that happened someone seemed to think that i had personal and not political issues with gandhi...


i just wish people would read a little bit more before sprouting non-sense

[bloodyjack]

44. Personal issues?

The poster probably just couldn't come up w/ a valid argument

Anyway, I have to go make my bed and lie in it

It has been a pleasure :hi:

[DelawareValleyDem]

10. delete, misplaced

[lady lib]

11. Hey Bouncy Ball!

How are you watching a movie and posting on DU AND staying awake after your insomnia last night? :hi:

[Bouncy Ball]

12. I have no idea where I get my energy

especially since I haven't had any caffeine, either!

I have the subtitles on with the movie, so I can look over and make sure I get everything.

Eh. It's pretty easy. Though I will have to give up the lounge, because I have some paperwork to do, too. Might have to finish the movie later...it's Netflix so I can keep it however long.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. I watched it when it was released! 1982 -- I was 17.

Imagine the effect it had in an impressionable youth like me. One of many things that made me a flaming pinko lefty liberal. :thumbsup:

[Bouncy Ball]

23. I can see why, too.

If they can do it, we can rise up for what is right in this country, too.

Agreed?

Wow, I'm just blown away by this movie. Now I want to know more about him.

[fluffernutter]

41. me too. i loved it.

what a great man.

[dback]

18. I still don't think it deserved the Oscar sweep

One Hollywood insider wisecracked that "Gandhi" was everything Oscar voters wanted to be: "Moral, tan, and thin." However, the other nominees--"The Verdict" "Missing" "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Tootsie" hold up better today. (And that's not including non-nominees for Best Picture such as "My Favorite Year" "Moonlighting" "Das Boot" "Victor/Victoria" "An Officer and a Gentleman" "The World According to Garp" and others.) It's not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, just not as impressive as the man it celebrates.

I think Dustin Hoffman should've won Best Actor for "Tootsie," and "E.T." should've won Best Picture, with Attenborough taking Best Director. But you can play these revisionist games forever. (See Danny Perry's book "Alternate Oscars," where he rewrite Oscar history and awards the Best Picture and Actor awards exactly as I just did.)

[Senator Lamb]

38. ive always been interested in ghandi

and im reading some of his answers to questions regarding, God, faith, economic equality, and everything he says makes so much sense. I also believe Jesus had very similiar beliefs regarding materialism and non violence. I really belief Christianity has been hijacked because it is directly opposed to what is going on right now as i relates to our economic structure and foreign policy.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

39. Q: What do you think of Western Civilization?

A: I think it would be an excellent idea. (I think this one was in the film.)

My favorite quote, though: (I think this was not in the film)

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.


A good quote for our time.