[worship bell sound]
Om...
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, Assalamualaikum!
Wa alaikum assalam!
Patriotism is one of the pillars of our Islamic faith.
-Here, put it away... -Devotion to the nation is part of our creed...
What is this nuisance?
When will it end? Go ask them to cut it out.
and our nation is Hindustan!
"O waters of the Ganga, do you remember the day
our caravan arrived at your riverbank."
Our cultures are entwined like the Ganga and the Jamuna.
Seven generations of our ancestors have been buried in this very land!
He's off to Pakistan, he says...
what does he expect to achieve?
No, I got your pamphlets.
They read well. I'll distribute them.
Religious solidarity and concord are what will propel this nation to progress!
Hindus and Muslims are brothers!
Forgive and forget the past!
Let us make Hind the paradise it can be!
Forgive and forget the past!
Let us make Hind the paradise it can be!
Forgive and forget the past!
[bomb explosion]
[whistles]
Catch him! Catch him!
Where are you running off to?
Catch him! Catch him!
Stop! He went that way!
Psst.
[suspenseful music playing]
Come on! Quickly. Quickly!
Hurry up! Go down.
[door closes]
[opening title music plays]
[drip]
[exhales]
[breathing heavily & coughing]
[clears throat]
[glass clinking]
[coughs]
Fatti!
Fatti...!
FATTI...!
-Jinn? -Fatti...!
JINN!
Are you alright?
-Fatti... -Jinn, are you alright?!
Here...ahh...
[panting]
Yes... yes.
[breathing heavily]
I called for you so many times, Fatti
I know, I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you outside...
You just have one job, Fatti, one goddamn job!
I am taking care of an entire nation here,
and you can't take care of a single person!
My pills!
my pills...
Here...
I don't need your sympa--
I don't need your sympathy
[door knocking]
Yes?
Mr. Prime Minister is here to see the Quaid.
[coughs]
Liaquat sahab,
I would like to remind you, arriving without an appointment
is a breach of protocol!
And to deny the Prime Minister of the country an appointment for a week --
Is this the right protocol?
Quaid cannot meet with anybody right now.
Whatever you have to say, you can say to me.
With all due respect,
I have some files pending the Quaid's signature,
not the First Lady's!
Alright.
You may come tomorrow.
I'll make sure you have some time with him.
We have not seen the Quaid in days.
I hope he's alright?
The government has the right to know, so!
The government rather have me dead!
Isn't it?
Quaid, there are several files pending your signature.
But if you need to rest,
the cabinet's authority will have to be increased.
I made that mistake for Kashmir,
I will not make it again!
Did you come here only to wish me dead,
or did you have something else to say?
Mr. Gandhi has requested permission to visit Pakistan.
What shall I tell him?
Lay down a carpet of flowers from Delhi to Lahore!
ARE YOU STUPID?!
Haven't you learned anything from Kashmir!
The Hindus have refused to acknowledge the existence of Pakistan!
They want to swallow us whole,
and you want to invite Gandhi here to walk over a salt marsh?!
That wily old man will incite our own people against us!
I will never give permission for that!
Do you understand, Mr. Prime Minister?
Do you understand?!
I'm fine.
[cycle bell chimes]
"Gandhi is a Muslim sympathiser...
he has compassion only for Muslims, not for Hindus."
"Gandhi is against Hindus"?!
These journalists have become absolutely shameless!
And this isn't even the half of it, Pyarelal-ji!
Until now, they were whispering these things behind closed doors.
Now they're saying it out in the open.
[almirah's rattle]
Soon, they'll be shouting it through loudspeakers!
Look! Look how I have hidden them!
These reporters think they can get away with anything!
And even though this is what they're writing,
Bapu is insisting upon going to Pakistan!
I am not insisting...
It is my decision.
[phone ringing]
Then decide differently, or...
...or else the accusations against me might ring true?
I am concerned for these people, not about their accusations.
Just like Indian Muslims are my brothers,
Pakistani Hindus and Sikhs are my brothers too.
I must go to Pakistan and protect them.
Yes.
Pyarelal, start packing.
[inhale]
Bapu, you cannot go to Pakistan.
For heavens' sake, I will talk to Jawahar and Sardar! Don't worry.
Bapu, Jinnah has denied you permission.
If I don't go to Pakistan right away...
This hatred must end.
No matter what, this hatred must end.
This is a waste of my time, I have a country to run!
Go tell the Home Ministry,
strict action must be taken against all those that are spewing venom against Bapu!
Sahab, sahab, I am only the manager! I just started here last month!
Well, do you want to go to jail this month?!
N-no, sahab...
[dog bark]
[door opens]
[suspenseful music playing]
Sir!
[dramatic music]
Sahab, I don't know a thing about any of this,
the owner hasn't said a word about any of this!
Where is this owner of yours? [train honking]
Please pay attention. You cannot leave this room before...
Hey, you. Go, go, go!
What's all this! My train has arrived and I am still in here!
I have forgotten my bag!
[tense music continues]
...from Ahmednagar has arrived at platform number 3.
What language is this?
Gandhi had said
that the Partition of this country will happen over his dead body.
But the country is partitioned...
and Gandhi is still alive.
Gandhi's policy of non-violence has turned Hindus from lions to lambs!
You understand my point?
Even now, Gandhi is more worried about those Muslim rioters!
Not the starving Hindu refugees!
Those vultures! They are destroying our motherland, Hindu women are being raped,
and this impotent society
is simply watching the show.
How long will we watch silently!
Well... at least someone has the guts to say the truth.
The man who wrote this. Do you want to meet him?
...may go together. [door opens]
Excuse us, please.
Namaste, sir.
-Good morning. -Namaste, Vallabhbhai.
Good morning, sir.
[door creaking]
[exhales & inhale]
There are certain organizations that are spewing lies against Bapu.
[rustle]
The Home Ministry needs to take strict action against them.
This is all propaganda.
Give it a few days, they'll get tired and stop.
We have many things, larger things, to worry about.
Besides, pre-censorship orders are already in place.
Vallabhbhai, I'm not sure you understand.
The population of this country is drunk on hatred.
There cannot be a greater concern.
The country has gone through some tough times, Jawahar.
It will take time
for the hatred to mellow.
Time will heal everything. Have faith.
In what? In whom? In hatred? Time?
Can you not see, people are drawing courage from hatred!
They are enslaved by it!
They find strength in numbers and run off to spit on the minority!
Even in refugee camps, ration and medicine are being withheld from minorities!
We need to make sure people understand,
the Muslims that wanted to leave, have already left!
I will not let religion dictate this country.
What do you want from the Home Ministry?
I cannot pack them all up and cart them off to jail, can I?
These people, and their ideas,
are directly responsible for the violence in the nation,
and it is not only the common man they are influencing.
There are certain people in the Home Ministry itself...
whose ideology I find questionable.
You must remove them.
Let's set an example.
Let's begin at home.
Don't you always say, there should be room for disagreement in democracy...
There is a difference between disagreement and provocation.
The Home Ministry does not and will not appoint or dismiss anybody
basis the personal preference of the Prime Minister.
And one more thing.
My Ministry. Let me run it how I see fit,
and have some faith
that this nation and its secularism are as important for me as they are for you!
[coughs]
Have all the staff gone off on holiday?!
[electric switch clatter]
[coughs]
Look at the state of this office!
[door opens]
Where the hell is everybody?
And why is nobody answering the phone?!
Give that here!
The cheque the Pakistan government gave to British Airways has bounced.
I've just received a humiliating letter from them.
Until when will the people of Pakistan pay for your incompetence, Liaquat?!
Learn to fulfill the responsibility that has been placed
upon your shoulders!
As should the rest of you!
What are we to do if our government has no money, Quaid?
If we were to beg, we would have to spread our hands before the international community.
Because our government can't even afford a begging bowl!
Where did all the money go?
Have you all stolen it?!
Hindustan has not given us our share of 55 crore rupees yet.
I knew it!
I knew it.
These Hindus want to destroy Pakistan before it is even built!
But nothing can destroy Pakistan.
Not the greatest power in the world.
-QUAID! -Quaid!
-I'm fine!
I'm fine, leave me, I am fine...
I'm fine...
I'm fine
Had Pakistan been poor,
we would have given them their 55 crore rupees.
Happily, we would have given it to them.
But poverty is not what Pakistan is fighting.
They are fighting us.
And what do you think Mr. Jinnah will do with these 55 crore rupees?
Distribute blankets among the poor?
Of course not.
He will buy bullets and guns with this money, and fire them at us.
And I cannot permit that a single paisa of this nation be used against my citizens!
[banging hand]
[birds chirping]
You do realise, this is tantamount to international embezzlement?
Both countries entered into a binding contract.
Violating its terms will only make India look dishonourable
as far as the rest of the world is concerned.
Now I've tried reasoning with Nehru and Mr. Patel, but...
Mr. Gandhi?
Why are you smiling?
Because
I have found the opportunity I was looking for.
opportunity?
Yes,
opportunity.
[devotional music]
Sisters and brothers.
We must show the world,
this partition has injured our soul...
but not destroyed it!
Two brothers can live in two different houses,
but they are still brothers!
And one does not take what is rightfully his brother's.
For this reason, I have decided
to fast until Hindustan gives Pakistan the 55 crore rupees
that rightfully belong to them.
[typing machine clanking]
Bapu has shocked those closest to him by declaring yet another fast unto death.
His decision is at complete odds
with the Deputy Prime Minister's last press conference.
Bapu's latest announcement has not only ashamed the government
but also enraged several Hindus.
Can you read this?
It says Gandhi is fasting, for Pakistan!
He will break his fast when we give Pakistan 55 crore rupees.
Do you understand now, what kind of a man he is?
[suspenseful music playing]
Mr. Patel, is it true that Bapu is fasting against your decision?
Vallabhbhai! If all Bapu cares about is Pakistan,
What is the difference between him and Jinnah?
Vallabhbhai, has Bapu forgotten that it is a sin to take food from your own child
and hand it to your neighbour?
[birds chirping]
Patience, Vallabhbhai...
There is a queue.
Bapu, your body cannot handle another fast at this age.
These 55 crore rupees are a legal matter between two nations.
The poverty of 7 crore Pakistanis
might be a legal matter for you,
but not for me...
you may not care about Pakistanis,
but you care about human beings, right...
Then why the petty politics, Jawahar?
Bapu, this is not solely my decision or Jawahar's.
This is what the Cabinet has decided unanimously.
The Cabinet must understand, Vallabhbhai.
No political decision can be greater than Bapu's life.
Well, Pakistan cannot be greater than Hindustan for Bapu either...
...is what the people are saying, not I.
Bapu,
did you not spare a single thought for
the humiliation your decision would cause the government?
I have received intelligence
that Pakistan is planning yet another attack on Kashmir.
If, at a time like this, the government caves before your decision,
how will our people have any faith in us?
Then let me die.
I have humiliated you too many times already.
Your rivals are doing more for Pakistan than your friends.
What do you mean?!
Gandhi is on a hunger strike.
[coughs] He will fast until India releases Pakistan's 55 crore rupees.
What?
Haven't you read the paper?
[chuckles]
As usual, Gandhi is taking the moral high ground!
I am sure it was he who withheld the funds.
And now, he is currying favour by going on a fast!
So typical Gandhi!
[laughs]
So typical of him.
Bapu, let us know if you need any help.
Bapu...
[door clank]
[door closes]
[thud]
-Bapu! -Bapu!
-Bapu...! -BAPU!
-Bapu! -We need Sushila-ji...
Bapu, I will not take much of your time.
Bapu, I just wanted to let you know,
we will release Pakistan's 55 crore rupees.
For the love of god, please...
I have some more conditions.
[tense music playing]
Bapu's life is now in our hands, the hands of India's people.
I request you all to accept all his conditions.
If they were worth accepting, we might have!
Bapu has gone senile!
First, he got Pakistan all that money,
and now he wants Hindu and Sikh refugees
to vacate the houses they are taking shelter in?!
As if that wasn't enough,
he wants us to embrace any Muslims
that might want to return after leaving for Pakistan?
We are not crazy!
And what's more, he wants
every political party to sign the document with all his conditions!
If Gandhi-ji wants to die, let him die!
As soon as possible!
Let Bapu die! Let him die, let him die!
His kidneys are failing,
due to which he is unable to discharge his daily litre and half of fluid intake.
This is putting a strain on his heart.
One sip.
I have brought my papers here.
Until you break your fast, I will work from here.
For that, my dissenters will
also have to sign my document of conditions.
[somber music playing]
Bapu's weight has dropped to 49 kilogrammes.
His doctor, Sushila Nayyar,
is here with us today to give us an update on his health.
Bapu's condition is deteriorating rapidly.
If he doesn't break his fast in the next few hours,
matters will worsen.
Pyarelal-ji,
do whatever it takes.
I want everybody's signatures on this document.
Yes Pandit-ji.
Ji.
If his BP drops further, we will have to hospitalise him.
Long live Gandhi-ji! Long live Gandhi-ji!
His pulse is slowing down.
Urinalysis reports show the presence of acetone and acetic acid.
The carbohydrate reserves in Bapu's body have run out,
and for protein, his body is reliant on his own organs.
Bapu's body is attacking itself.
If he doesn't break his fast soon,
his organs will start failing one by one.
I see
it takes
fast unto death
to get you to
visit me...
So nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humour.
Please,
stop the fast.
You see,
I haven't lost
my will--
Bapu!
-Get the doctor! -Sushila-ji!
Pandit-ji...Pandit-ji...come fast. He is not saying anything.
Bapu...? Bapu? Bapu!
-Bapu...! Bapu! -We will have to put Bapu on oxygen!
AMBULANCE!
Bapu... Bapu!
The latest report from Birla House is that Bapu is in a coma.
It has been over a hundred hours since he began his fast.
But not all parties have agreed to his conditions yet.
Nobody knows whether Bapu will see the dawn of a new day tomorrow.
[grim music]
Save Bapu! Save Bapu! Save Bapu!
Gandhi is the messenger of peace!
Bapu, every party has signed.
[birds chirping]
Please break your fast...
Long live Mahatma Gandhi!
British Airways' arrears have been paid, Quaid.
All government officers have been given a raise.
Office furniture has been ordered too.
That's what I always say...
All it takes is better management.
[coughs]
Actually, Quaid...
This is the result of Gandhi sahab's hunger strike.
As of yesterday, Pakistan has received our share of the money.
It's impressive, Quaid.
Gandhi sahab saved our nation from starvation!
I am starting to understand why people call him the Mahatma...
We should also pray for his long life!
Those biscuits are from London,
not Hindustan!
Quaid,
perhaps we should take another look at Mr. Gandhi's request to visit Pakistan.
[somber music playing]
And sir, there are new reports of religious violence in Ajmer.
Hindu refugees from Sindh and local Muslims had a heated argument,
which soon turned violent.
We must quell this spark immediately.
Yes, Vallabhbhai.
Send a fact-finding team from the Home Ministry to Ajmer right away.
Yes.
But sir... the Prime Minister already sent a team.
[tense music]
I'll look into it, Vallabhbhai! Vallabhbhai--
[door opens]
...does not mean that...
May I ask why the PMO has sent a factfinding team to Ajmer?
Does it have no faith in the Home Ministry's report?
Let us all step out...
It's fine.
I have already expressed my opinion
on the appointment of certain Home Ministry officials.
And I expressed my opinion as well...
that I don't want the Prime Minister meddling with MY Ministry!
It's not meddling, it is the right of the Prime Minister!
The Prime Minister does not need to ask the Home Ministry's
permission before mobilising his representatives!
Ah, like in Kashmir. Right?
It was the right thing to do.
That is what you think!
I must request you to maintain the dignity of this office.
No, no! No.
I am not diminishing the dignity of the Prime Minister's office!
The honourable Prime Minister has done it himself,
by insisting upon his outdated ideals!
For the past few weeks,
I have been having a hard time putting my faith into this PMO.
If neither one of us has faith in the other,
why work together at all?
Wah!
That is the first thing you have said in months
that I agree with completely.
[train honking]
[railway announcement]
[somber music playing]
Ay, Madan! What are you staring at?
Let's go, quick!
Come on!
Dear Bapu...
When the two hands of a clock cannot move in the same direction,
it becomes impossible to tell the time.
Vallabhbhai and I have always had our differences, you know that.
But lately, the chasm between us has grown impossibly wide...
Whether the matter is economic or communal, we are unable to see eye to eye.
This has complicated all matters greatly.
I don't know what to do.
I am at a crossroads and I desperately need your guidance, Bapu.
Pyarelal?
Yes, Bapu?
I would like to meet with Jawahar and Sardar together tomorrow.
Yes, Bapu.
[grim music]
[door opens]
Bapu, it is 5 o'clock.
[tense music playing]
My dear countrymen.
I am heartened to see that
you all have made a return to peace and goodwill.
[applause]
We must all fight against this deluge of hatred and revenge.
We must remember...
an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
To think that India is a Hindu nation -- even to think it is wrong.
Our scriptures, our dharma say so, not I.
Secularism might be a novel idea for the world,
but it is the ancient law of our dharma.
Sarva dharma sam bhaav!
All religions are equal.
Let us all come together and pray for those
who have been wrenched from us in the throes of this hatred.
[mellow music playing]
[bomb crackle]
Firecracker! Mum, look, a firecracker!
DEATH TO GANDHI...!
[bomb explosion]
[scream]