Cinema VinesDirector Sudhir Mishra has begun shooting his next feature, tentatively titled Gandhi and My Mother, in Lucknow. The film stars veteran actor Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role of Mahatma Gandhi, with supporting performances from Divya Dutta and Saurabh Shukla. Filming opened on Friday with an outdoor sequence in the city’s Narhi locality, close to Lucknow Zoo, where the team captured a scene featuring a young girl and Gandhi’s public movement. The production design team has recreated the 1940s ambience with period‑accurate cars, costumes and signage to lend authenticity to the setting.
Mishra, known for the 2005 hit Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, revealed that the idea for the film came from his late mother, Durga Devendra Nath Mishra, who had met Gandhi as a child. He promised her that he would make a film about the great leader after her passing in 2022. The script focuses on a 21‑day chapter from the later stage of Gandhi’s life, blending a film‑within‑a‑film structure with the actor’s own dilemma and contemporary perceptions of the icon.
Anubhav Sinha, who previously collaborated with Mishra on Afwaah, is backing the project. Sinha noted that Bajpayee has lost significant weight and is currently in a “Gandhi zone,” following a restricted diet and specific lifestyle for the role. The shoot is slated to continue in Lucknow until October, with the team working on a new title beyond the working name.
Mishra, 67, has a long history of filmmaking in his hometown, having directed Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987), Daas Dev (2018) and Afwaah (2023), and is also developing a project called Summers of 76 featuring actors Narendra Panjwani, Rajat Kapoor, Isha Talwar, Anoushka Pant and Saurabh Shukla. Sinha has similarly shot several films in Lucknow, including Mulk (2018), Article 15 (2019), Thappad (2020) and Bheed (2023), and is set to release a new film, Abhi to Party Shuru Hui Hai, in the city.
