Peace March

“I read a news report a few years ago about how Bapu’s ashes were transported in a Ford truck to Allahabad . That truck was lying neglected in a museum in Ahmedabad,Gujarat. I realised that reliving that moment through a film was the best way to pay tribute to Gandhi’s beliefs,” explains Rai,a well-known Marathi playwright.

The narrative of Road to Sangam conflates fact,fiction and metaphors to convey a social message. In Rai’s fictional account,one urn of Gandhi’s ashes was not immersed in 1948. This is now procured by his great grandson Tushar Gandhi,played by Tushar himself. On the historical Ford truck,Tushar sets off to Allahabd to finish the last rites. “I have blurred out time. The film is set in contemporary India ,but it could just as well be in 1948,” says the filmmaker. “Tushar has a 10-minute role because the action is about the building of the truck. His presence lends authenticity to the script.”

The film starts with the Muslim mechanic Hashmatullah (played by Paresh Rawal) repairing the 1948 Ford V8 engine that was used in the truck. “This section is inspired by a real mechanic called Hasmatullah who repaired the engine for the museum a few years ago,” says the filmmaker. Om Puri plays a prominent Muslim community member who called a protest march against the arrest of Muslim youth after an explosion in Allahabad. “The truck is symbolic. Like the nuts and bolts of an engine,religions and communities must work together for a smooth functioning,” explains Rai,who shot entirely in Allahabad .

Shooting finished in January 2009 and the film travelled to various international festivals. It received awards for the Best Original Score at the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival,Best Feature Film at the Hamburg International Film Festival and Best First Film at the South-African Film Festival. “It shows that Gandhi is universally revered,” smiles Rai. The film releases in India on January 29.