10th international convention of SPIC MACAY inaugurated at IIT Hyderabad
The week-long exploration of India's classical and spiritual traditions saw over 1,500 students and volunteers from across India and abroad.
The convention opened with a screening of film 'Gandhi', followed by an orientation led by SPIC MACAY founder Kiran Seth. He urged students to treat the convention as an inner journey—akin to a stay in an ashram—with simplicity, discipline, and reflection.
The opening day saw Nadaswaram recital by Vidwan Sheikh Mahboob Subhani and Vidwan Kaleeshabi Mahaboob, and the evening concluded with Kuchipudi by Raja and Radha Reddy with excerpts from Bhama Kalapam, and Hindustani violin concert by N. Rajam, who brought out the emotive essence of the ragas, and offered a tranquil end to the first day proceedings.
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The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Decoding Pratik Gandhi's recipe for success
With Gandhi in the Toronto International Film Festival and Saare Jahan Se Accha on Netflix, Pratik Gandhi is fast emerging as the new chameleon in the film world. From playing Harshad Mehta to Mahatma Gandhi and Jyotiba Phule in between, his versatility is quietly making a statement. 'I love human drama. I like exploring different mindsets without judging them,' says Pratik as he stirs his black coffee at a hotel in central Delhi. 'One angle of their lives is known to the world. What is not known to even their family is what was happening in their minds when they were busy changing the world around them. That is the area I want to explore,' he explains. Each biopic presents a unique challenge. With Phule, there was just one photo for reference. In Gandhi, there is a problem of plenty. 'It works both ways. If there were more photographs, I would have to put in more physical effort to look like Phule. I worked on his emotions to make the audience believe in my reflection of Phule. With Gandhi, I didn't want to mimic him. Even with numerous videos and photos, my job is to make you believe, at the 40th or 50th second, that this is Gandhi. It required a little more preparation on my part.' Unconcerned about comparisons with Ben Kingsley and Rajit Kapoor, Pratik says that his theatre background, where he played a young, ordinary Gandhi in Mohan's Masala (Mohan's Recipe), helped shape the character, apart from director Hansal Mehta, with whom it is his fourth project. 'Our bond is such that we can talk without exchanging a word,' says Pratik, adding that an actor carries a bit of writer in him by default. 'Theatre practice brings you close to literature. I can't write on blank paper, but I rewrite what is given to me during the rehearsal process. I constantly check the metre of my dialogue. Here, understanding the nuances of the language is helpful. By using the synonym of a word, an actor can increase the depth of the dialogue.' In Saare Jahan Se Accha, where he has joined hands with director Sumit Purohit, who wrote Scam 1992, Pratik states that the biggest challenge he faced was creating a real-world spy, Vishnu Shankar, posted in Pakistan. 'Spies are supposed to be common guys who don't seek unnecessary attention, living far away from glamour. What we usually see on screen is the opposite. So I had to unlearn the image of a spy in my mind. We have worked on both the behavioural and visual aspects to create a world of the 1970s, an important decade in our history. The lives of spies is all about getting information and communication, but there were no mobiles, and computers were hardly there.' Pratik loved projecting the constant moral dilemma of Vishnu and likes the fact that his Pakistani counterpart, played by Sunny Hinduja, is equally conflicted. 'Vishnu's means may be right for achieving a bigger purpose, but while working towards the goal, he is doing something wrong to those close to him, including his wife, colleagues, and friends. He is doing something big but can't share it with anyone. I get attracted to these complexities, peculiarities, and pressures that a character goes through because it becomes challenging to process and translate to the audience.' Having worked in an engineering job until 2016, Pratik has also juggled family life, his passion for acting, and making ends meet in a challenging world. 'My dilemma was selfish, and if I extrapolate it to Vishnu's dilemma, that is also selfish, but in his mind, he is not being self-seeking because he is doing it for the country. In my case, I was doing it for myself. However, I completely understand the emotion. The constant feeling of guilt is complicated to manage. Ghar par time nahin de pa rahe (Not able to spend time at home), have to manage office as well as rehearsals, whatever reason you might give, you feel a sense of guilt.' What makes Pratik different from his contemporaries is that, with craft, he has lived life. 'When Scam 1992 happened to me, I used to cry that I am getting the chance at 40, but later I thanked God that it happened at 40 because till then I could gather life experiences which helped me profoundly process complex emotions.' But being discovered late by filmmakers limits the options for playing certain parts. 'Yes, I may not fit a college-going character, but if you bring a script, pass kar jayenge (I will pass),' grins Pratik. He reminds me of the lighter parts he played in Madgaon Express and Do Aur Do Pyaar. 'Theatre prepares you to play both raja and vidushak (king and clown) and everything in between.' ALSO READ: Anurag Kashyap blasts CBFC and Brahmin backlash against 'Phule': 'If there's no caste, why are you offended?' But the 'unstructured' film industry has its queer ways. 'I was outrightly rejected by television. I am told that I don't look a conventional hero. Should I take this as a compliment?' asks Pratik with a chuckle In an interview with this journalist, Phule director Anant Mahadevan described Pratik as the new Sanjeev Kumar. Strangely, not many mainstream actors come from Gujarat. 'When I was starting out, we were told that Gujarati actors don't make it big in Hindi cinema because people could smell the Gujarati in their diction. Apart from Sanjeev Kumar, we don't have many mainstream actors from the State. Paresh Rawal made it big as a supporting actor. However, when I came to Mumbai, I realised that those who come from Punjab also sound Punjabi, but they have been accepted as part of the mainstream. I guess OTT has bridged this gap. Now the linguistic flavours don't bother anybody.' Saare Jahan Se Accha will be streaming on Netflix from August 13.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Ricky Kej's latest album is a tribute to the Mahatma
Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej's latest album, Gandhi - Mantras of Compassion, is an ode to Mahatma Gandhi. 'He has handheld us into the 20th. He has left his footprint on the world,' says the singer-composer whose past three Grammy-winning projects have each had a song on the Mahatma. 'But I always wanted to dedicate an entire album to him,' says Ricky. Cut to 2024 when he did a four-city concert tour along with another person he admires, Kailash Satyarthi, who leads a life based on the principles of the Mahatma. It was a fundraiser for Kailash's movement for global compassion. Ricky got to spend time at Kailash's Bal Ashram in Jaipur. That was when they decided to put together an album on Gandhi. It is an attempt to retell his ideals to a world filled with anxiety, war, hatred and unrest. For the album, Ricky has collaborated with over 200 musicians from 40 countries, including a Charango player from Argentina, a Dan bau artiste from Vietnam and a guitarist from Chennai. The album has 11 songs, including five favourite hymns of the Mahatma, a Sanskrit translation of 'The lord's prayer' and original compositions by Ricky. Earlier this month, on his birthday, Ricky released a spiritual track from the album. Titled 'We are one', it is based on 'Raghupati raghav raja ram', another of the Mahatma's favourite. The music video for the song, which was shot over two years with Ricky travelling to various sacred sites across the world, was recently unveiled at the Celebrating India Film Festival in New Delhi. 'The track talks about oneness — a lot of rituals across religions are the same, and most of them have a common essence of love and compassion,' he says.
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Hansal Mehta's ‘Gandhi' To Premiere At Toronto International Film Festival 2025
Last Updated: Hansal Mehta's Gandhi, starring Pratik Gandhi, becomes the first Indian series selected for TIFF's Primetime Programme. In a landmark moment for Indian storytelling, Applause Entertainment's much-anticipated international series Gandhi, directed by Hansal Mehta and starring Pratik Gandhi, will have its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The series has been officially selected for TIFF's prestigious Primetime Programme, making it the first Indian series ever to be showcased in the festival's dedicated celebration of long-form storytelling. Adapted from historian Ramachandra Guha's definitive biographies, Gandhi is envisioned as a sweeping, multi-season epic that reimagines the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi—not as the saintly figure etched in history, but as the young, flawed, and ambitious man still finding his way in the world. Season One: An Untold Story of Becoming (1888–1915) will chronicle Gandhi's early years, beginning with his adolescence in colonial India, his awkward stint as a law student in London, and his transformative 23 years in South Africa. It's a tale of contradictions, failures, awakenings, and self-discovery—long before he became the Mahatma, he was simply Mohan. TIFF Primetime, which began in 2015, has previously hosted acclaimed series like Alfonso Cuarón's Disclaimer, Shawn Levy and Steven Knight's All the Light We Cannot See, and Netflix's first German original Dark. Gandhi now joins this distinguished roster, marking a significant cultural milestone for Indian content on the global stage. Producer and Applause Entertainment MD Sameer Nair called the selection 'both an honour and a moment of immense pride." He added, 'Taking you up close and personal to the young Mohan way before he became the man history knows, this series is the culmination of deep research, creative development, and unwavering belief in the human story we wanted to tell. TIFF will be the first time our Gandhi will be seen by audiences. To begin that journey on such a global platform is the perfect start." For director and showrunner Hansal Mehta, the project is deeply personal, 'Gandhi has been the most creatively challenging and soul-stirring journey of my career. It's not just a story from our past—it's a meditation on conscience, a portrait of a man in constant conflict with himself and his times. TIFF has previously been home to some of my most precious work, and to have perhaps the most ambitious story of my career premiering there is doubly special—particularly in TIFF's 50th year." The TIFF premiere will be attended by key members of the team including Sameer Nair, Hansal Mehta, Siddharth Khaitan, Pratik Gandhi, as well as Tom Felton and Kabir Bedi. Backed by an accomplished creative team, the series features music by A.R. Rahman, with writing credits to Vaibhav Vishal, Karan Vyas, Felix von Stumm, Hema Gopinathan, Sehaj Kaur Maini, and Yashna Malhotra. Script guidance came from Siddhartha Basu and Ramachandra Guha himself. Casting was handled by Mukesh Chhabra (India) and Shakyra Dowling (International), with production design by Shashank Tere, costumes by Pia Benegal, and cinematography by Pratham Mehta—all contributing to the show's authenticity and scale. The world will now meet Gandhi not as the Mahatma, but as the man in the making, when the series makes its debut at TIFF 2025. First Published: August 10, 2025, 19:16 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
