Archive · 22 Aug 2026
Manoj Bajpayee Joins Actors Who Portrayed Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi has been played by many actors in movies, television shows and web series.
Manoj Bajpayee is the latest actor announced to take on the role.
Ben Kingsley played Gandhi in a famous 1982 film and won an Academy Award.
Other actors showed Gandhi at different stages of his life.
Rajit Kapur played him as a young lawyer in South Africa.
Darshan Jariwala showed the difficult side of Gandhi’s relationship with his son.
Dilip Prabhavalkar played a friendly, imaginary Gandhi who helped a character understand his ideas.
More recent actors have portrayed Gandhi during Partition, constitutional debates and an imagined alternate history.
Together, these performances show that filmmakers interpret Gandhi in many different ways.
Manoj Bajpayee is set to portray Mahatma Gandhi in an upcoming screen project.
Ben Kingsley’s performance in Gandhi (1982) won an Academy Award and became a global benchmark.
Rajit Kapur won the National Film Award for Best Actor for The Making of the Mahatma (1996).
Performances in films including Sardar, Hey Ram, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Gandhi, My Father explored different sides of Gandhi.
Recent portrayals include Deepak Antani, Chirag Vohra and Pratik Gandhi in projects released or announced from 2023 onward.
- Who
- Manoj Bajpayee and 12 other actors who have portrayed Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, including Ben Kingsley, Rajit Kapur and Pratik Gandhi.
- What
- The announcement of Manoj Bajpayee’s portrayal of Gandhi, alongside a review of earlier screen performances of the Mahatma.
- When
- The article references portrayals released between 1982 and 2024, as well as Manoj Bajpayee’s newly announced project.
- Where
- In films, television series and web series produced primarily in India, with Ben Kingsley’s portrayal appearing in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.
- Why
- Gandhi remains one of cinema and television’s most frequently interpreted historical figures.
- New portrayal
- Manoj Bajpayee has been announced as the latest actor to play Mahatma Gandhi.
- Number of earlier portrayals listed
- The article lists 12 other actors who have brought Gandhi to the screen.
- First performance highlighted
- Ben Kingsley played Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982).
- Major award
- Ben Kingsley won an Academy Award for Gandhi; Rajit Kapur and Darshan Jariwala also received major national film honors for their portrayals.
- Young Gandhi
- Rajit Kapur portrayed Gandhi’s formative 21 years as a South African barrister in The Making of the Mahatma (1996).
- Popular-culture portrayal
- Dilip Prabhavalkar’s performance in Lage Raho Munna Bhai helped popularize the idea of “Gandhigiri.”
- Latest listed portrayal
- Pratik Gandhi portrays Gandhi in Hansal Mehta’s web series Gandhi, adapted from Ramachandra Guha’s biographical volumes.