Kanu Gandhi is adept at capturing some of the main elements of his great uncle’s visit to Bengal. He sets the scene by filming the excursion to the province – recording the trains and paddle steamers that took Gandhi there; capturing their approach; and filming while in motion on these vehicles. He also films the large crowds that greeted Gandhi during his journey, and there is footage of some of the speeches that he made to them. Also documented is the devastation in Bengal. Kanu films some of the desecrated idols and one of the looted villages. The majority of the film is taken up with Gandhi’s marches from village to village, however. Here Kanu captures the physical exertion; Gandhi’s reception; and also the homesteads in which he was put up overnight. Much of this footage is well framed: some sequences are filmed using water as a backdrop, others are shot through forest trees.

Kanu is skilled at working within his limitations. The footage is silent and so the substance of Gandhi’s speeches is lost. Kanu instead focuses upon their impact, regularly panning across the crowds, capturing both their size and their response. Gandhi does not pose for the camera, and Kanu regularly has to film from a distance. Nevertheless, Gandhi still has an iconic presence in this film. Some of this is due to Kanu’s filmmaking. He assumes good vantage points: during the village marches Kanu is usually ahead of the action, allowing Gandhi to progress towards the camera. When he is allowed closer to Gandhi, he captures valuable detail: he twice takes the opportunity to film his bare feet, before panning up to reveal the rest of him. The bare feet are just one part of Gandhi’s immediately recognisable image: his clothing; his cane; his glasses – all help to make him stand out no matter how large the crowd or from how great a distance he is filmed.

The footage is apparently unedited, and as such reveals some interesting recurrences. The first is related to the film’s own bias: it concentrates most fully upon the stages of Gandhi’s march and not upon the effects of the communal troubles. Although Gandhi’s visit does not appear to have been orchestrated for media purposes, this film is centred upon his actions. When not panning to reveal the scale of the attendant crowds, it is Gandhi who is kept centre screen. There is little extraneous material (it comes as a surprise when the film includes footage of coconut harvesting and oxen treading grain). Furthermore, it is the footage of Gandhi that is most thoughtfully composed: the film of the looted village suffers from unsteady and out-of-focus camerawork.

There are recurrences within the footage itself. A strong female presence becomes apparent. Firstly, there are Gandhi’s women helpers: during the marches he is always flanked by Abhu and/or Manu Gandhi. At certain times he can appear quite frail and he leans on them for support. Secondly, there are the women who greet him during the walk. Here he receives almost divine supplication: the women bow down before him; or garland him; or throw confetti-like substances. Also regularly recurring are the physical markers that punctuate the walk. There is a series of decorated arches, which Gandhi passes through before entering the villages. There is also a recurrence of bridges. Gandhi is seen making his unsteady way over at least ten of these. Kanu appears to want to capture the physical effort that Gandhi was expending on behalf of others. Finally, there is the recurrence of Indian National Congress flags. Although Gandhi had asked for them not to be carried, they are on prominent display during some of the stages of the walk; as such they serve as indicator that party politics were becoming unavoidable (Gandhi, 2007, 557).

Richard Osborne (February 2010)