Amid Adipurush row, Vikram Bhatt reveals the only film that Mahatma Gandhi ever watched was his grandfather Vijay Bhatt’s Ram Rajya

Vikram Bhatt has said that making a film based on religious subjects is like building a temple, and it should be purely about "about belief, faith and worship."

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | Updated: June 23, 2023 09:47 AM IST

3 min read

Vikram Bhatt's grandfatehr Vijay Bhatt directed Ram Rajya (1943). (Photos: Vikram Bhatt/ Instagram, IMDB)

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After Adipurush was released last week to poor response, audiences have started seeking out other versions of the epic Ramayana. Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, whose daughter Krishna Bhatt is making her directorial debut with 1920: Horrors of the Heart, remembered his grandfather Vijay Bhatt’s directorial Ram Rajya, which was released in the year 1943. He said that Ram Rajya was the only film that Mahatma Gandhi watched.

Vikram remembered the memories that his grandfather shared of the time when Mahatma Gandhi watched the film, and enjoyed it as he was a “Ram Bhakt”. In an interview with The Times of India, Vikram shared that his grandfather told him that Gandhiji watched Ram Rajya’s preview on a Monday, and that he was observing a maun vrat (vow of silence) that day. He said, “He was also a Ram Bhakt… he came and saw the film. My grandfather had the fortune of sitting next to him and show him the film.”

Vikram also shared that Gandhiji only had around 40 minutes to watch the film, but once the preview was over, Gandhiji was so immersed in watching the film that he gestured to keep the show running “because he wanted to see more of Ram ji’s life.” According to Vikram, Gandhiji enjoying the film was its “biggest success”. Vikram shared that the film had premiered in the US before releasing in India, and that it was made on a budget of under Rs 5 lakh rupees and it earned more than Rs 55 lakh. It starred Prem Adib and Shobhna Samarth in the lead roles of Rama and Sita.

Also read | Lesson from Adipurush: Cynical use of religion will backfire

Meanwhile, Om Raut’s Adipurush, starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan, has received severe criticism because of it’s clunky VFX and overtly colloquial dialogues. Vikram confessed that he hasn’t watched the film, but said that such films are made not to entertain the audience or to make money at the box-office but are “about belief, faith and worship”. Comparing making films on religious subjects to people in the olden times making temples, the filmmaker said, “People in the olden days used to build temples of their favourite deities. It was not for any profit. It was their way of worship and gratitude.”

Earlier this week, Vikram had taken to social media to share a memory of his grandfather’s film and had written, “It was a testament to his faith in his God and it was this same faith that he held close till the last day of his life. Some films go beyond mere entertainment. They go into the realm of deep faith and worship.”

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