Click to play videoNew York: Several books have been written about Mahatma Gandhi, documentaries and a major motion picture have also been made on him. But a new film looks at the Mahatma from a startling perspective — that of a baseball player.
A 10-minute film documents an episode of a top-secret visit that Mahatma Gandhi undertook to the United States in 1933.
And while in America, he participated in the favourite American pastime that of playing baseball. He got to bat for the New York Yankees, though he did start out with a cricket stance. The film is called Gandhi at the Bat.
Now, if you cannot believe that this actually happened, you're right. This, after all, is a mockumentary by the production house Mental Slapstick, and made by Los Angeles-based filmmakers Alec Boehm and Stephanie Argy.
"It was a short story that was published in a New Yorker magazine in 1983. My co-directing partner Stephanie found the story in a book on great sports humour and she said, ‘We have to make a film on this’," director, Gandhi at the Bat, Boehm said.
And so the directors let their imagination run wild and made this film.
"The story was based on a long lost news account of this incident. So we said, ‘How about if we made it into a news-reel that was only recently discovered?’" Boehm said.
So, one can watch the Mahatma as he gets on the baseball diamond in sepia tones and flickering motion. The filmmakers also plan to take this short to the festival circuit.
In real history, Mahatma Gandhi went to bat, with great success, for India. But, as a person with a great sense of humour, he probably would have enjoyed this spoof.
To know more about the film log on to www.gandhiatthebat.com.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
