"Ahimsa Gandhi" sheds the light on the eternal influence of nonviolence including the impact of Gandhi's philosophy on Emmy nominee and journalist Ramesh Sharma's one-and-a-half-hour film "Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless" shows how the Gandhian message of nonviolence went across the world. It has won the Best Documentary Award at the New York Indian Film Festival this year. The title song of the film has been sung by AR Rahman and Bono.

Insights into the Documentary

world leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, former South African president Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

The film also shows how the Gandhian message of nonviolence shaped South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Movement, the US Civil Rights Movement, Poland's Solidarity Movement, and the then Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution.

Also read: Let's be inspired by Gandhi’s spirit: UN chief

It masterfully crafts Nelson Mandela's fight against injustice and struggle to restore basic human rights for the coloured citizens of his country. 

The film, starred by Ramesh Sharma himself, decodes the power of nonviolence as a whole and its relevance today.

Along with the interviews of world-renowned scholars, biographers; close family members of Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel laureates such as the Dalai Lama, former Polish president Lech Walesa, the documentary presents rare archival footage, photographs, and inspirational songs.

Also read: Indian HC celebrates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniv

The Maker of Ahimsa Gandhi

Ramesh, who has written and directed "Ahimsa Gandhi," came to the limelight after winning his first national award for his documentary on Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. His political thriller film "New Delhi Times" won several National Film Awards.

Since then Ramesh has been actively involved in thefilm and television business. He has written, directed, and produced numerous films as well as documentaries.

Ramesh Sharma's 78-minute documentary "The Journalist and The Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl" was his joint work with HBO. It was nominated for two Emmy awards in 2007. The documentary also won the national award in India for the best investigative work of the year.

Also read: PM feels the necessity of Gandhian approach in today’s divisive world

Verdict

To bring the philosophy and inspiration of Gandhi back among the youths, the story of the iconic leader needs to be told in a new narrative style so that the new audience can connect with it. And "Ahimsa Gandhi" brings the eternal message of non-violence to the screen in a different way.