Gandhi is one of the holy cows of the Indian state and anything critical about him is either suppressed or ostracized. In 1963 a film on Gandhi based on a book by Stanley Wolpert was released. It talked about the 9 hours preceding the assassination of the Indian leader, hence the title "Nine Hours to Rama". I have just seen the film and could find no fault with it. Unfortunately, Nehru the then Indian prime minister condemned the film and it was banned in India. The film was released in 1963 and even now is worth watching for its faithful
depiction of facts.The role of Nathuram Godse is played by Horst Buchholz, a top of the drawer star of Hollywood at that time. The film was entirely shot in India and the director created an authentic period film
as well. The film depicts the assassination from the point of view of Nathuram Godse and brings out his sexual liaisons. He also spent some time with a call girl. Obviously, he was a very troubled man. The role of Gandhi is done to perfection by JS Cashyap. He was an older generation writer and actor.The film was directed by Mark Robson and ran for 124 minutes. It cost 3.6 million dollars, a sizeable amount at that time. The film did well outside India but because of the ban Indians could not watch it. It can be downloaded from the net and is an extremely watchable film. The faithful depiction of the killing of Gandhi and his policy that put many Hindus at risk is worth more than a casual interest.
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