Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Lok Sabha MP and actor Amol Kolhe has courted controversy after playing Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, in Why I Killed Gandhi movie. Leaders of his party in Maharashtra including Jitendra Awhad and Ankush Kakde have registered their anger and warned of protest against the film.
The trailer of the film was released on December 22, 2021, and it is all set to release on the Limelight OTT platform on January 30, 2022. The film was reportedly made in 2017.
Kolhe is an MP from Shirur Lok Sabha of Maharastra. He is best known for playing the character of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son in popular Marathi television serials. He is hailed as a crowd puller for NCP due to his popularity among the masses.
In the 2.20-minute trailer of Why I Killed Gandhi, Amol, playing the role of Gandhi’s assassin, is seen making a statement in court, justifying his decision to assassinate Gandhi on January 30, 1948.
Watch the trailer here:
According to the makers of the film, Why I Killed Gandhi is a “picturisation of the legal statement” made by Godse during the trial of Gandhi’s murder, and “it gives a radically alternative perspective to look at the history of 20th Century India.”
NCP leader Jitendra Awhad has criticized Kolhe’s decision to play the role of Godse. He said, “You cannot support the assassination of Gandhi in the guise of an artist.”
डॉ. अमोल कोल्हे यांच्या चित्रपटाचा ट्रेलर पाहून हे स्पष्ट होते की अमोल कोल्हे यांनी नथुराम गोडसे ची भूमिका केलेली आहे. त्यांनी केलेली कृती जरी कलाकार म्हणून केली असली, तरी त्यामध्ये नथुराम गोडसेचे समर्थन आलेच आहे. कलाकाराचा वेष घेऊन तुम्ही गांधी हत्येचे समर्थन करू शकत नाही— Dr.Jitendra Awhad (@Awhadspeaks) January 20, 2022
NCP leader Ankush Kakde said, “Even though Amol is an artist, he has some responsibility while working as a party office-bearer. Your behaviour should be in line with the ideology of that party.
After facing criticism, Amol issued a clarification through social media. He urged people to differentiate between “reel life” and “real life”.
“On a personal level, I am not a votary of Gandhi’s assassination or glorification of Nathuram, but I have tried to do justice with the role that came to me,” he said.
Amol is a skilled orator and he joined NCP in 2019 after leaving Shiv Sena. He defeated three-time Sena MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil in Shirur constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
