How Gandhi Became Orientalist: The Misrepresentation of Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Decolonization in Gandhi

Through examining the movie Gandhi directed in 1982 by Richard Attenborough, this essay aims to reflect on the pervasiveness of biased representations in Western cultural production and the legacy of imperialism in Western media. The inaccurate portrayal of Gandhi as a political figure extends to an incomplete narrative of Indian independence since India’s story of independence is strongly tied with his political identity. The movie Gandhi essentially serves as an introduction to India for the Western audience. Due to this, it is essential to reveal potentially misleading parts that the film depicts. Since the film primarily focuses on the characterization of Gandhi, each aspect discussed will show how the film has failed to adequately portray Gandhi’s character during the tumultuous period of the India’s decolonization process.