“Gandhi Lives”, does not present a stereotypical portrait of Gandhi, but rather looks at him through the eyes of a generation who never knew him. This view in the film highlights what Gandhi was and how he is perceived today.
The film refrains from intellectualizing Gandhi, and steers away from relegating him to the dusty pages of history. Instead the film explores the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi through professionals and ordinary people, in urban and rural India. It ends with Gandhi coming alive, seen through the eyes of a remarkable, 92 year old man, V. Kalyanam, the last personal secretary to Mahatma Gandhi.
The entire narration in the film is in first person as it consists of excerpts from Gandhi’s writings, giving the illusion of Gandhi commenting on contemporary India through the visuals and sequences in the film.
The music in the film is Gandhi’s favourite bhajan, “Vaishnava Janato” that Aruna has experimented with in Rap and Quawwali styles.