Zee Studios’ Gandhi Talks, the groundbreaking silent film with a background score by A.R.Rahman and directed by Kishor P Belekar, made history as the first silent movie screened at the 54th IFFI Goa on November 21st, is releasing January 30th.
Featuring a stellar cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aravind Swami, and Siddharth Jadhav, the film promises an enchanting journey into the silent era..
Vijay Sethupathi, discussing the IFFI premiere, shares, “The story traces a character’s evolution from seeking justice to discovering the ‘Gandhi’ within. It was a challenging project, and I aimed to embody Kishore’s vision. I chose it for its universal appeal, transcending religion and language barriers due to its silent nature. As an actor, I strive to justify my role.”
Gandhi Talks is directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar who has so far directed four acclaimed Marathi films.
Vijay Sethupathi told me, “In Gandhi Talks I don’t talk at all. It’s a silent film.”
And not because Vijay can’t speak Hindi. “Jee nahin, meri Hindi kafi achchi ho gayi hai (my Hindi has really improved). I’ve been working on it (the Hindi language) for my other projects with Raj-DK and another Hindi film being directed by Santosh Sivan.”
The last time a major actor did a silent film it was Kamal Haasan in Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Pushpak.
Says Vijay, “I’ve always believed that for an actor silences always speak louder than words. At least it’s true of me. I always feel the words come in the way of expressing the feelings.I am at my most expressive when I am not speaking.”
Vijay’s co-star in this silent film is Aditi Rao Hydari who has earlier gone through an entire film–Sufiyum Sujatayum in Malayalam—without speaking.
