October 2 marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi , and Bollywood has often found inspiration in the father of the nation in their stories. On Gandhi Jayanti today, actors Pratik Gandhi , Rajit Kapur and Darshan Jariwalla, who have all portrayed Gandhi on screen, reflect on why the Mahatma and his teachings still hold relevance even in 2026.
“Looking at the happenings all around the world, I personally feel that Mahatma Gandhi is more relevant now. His message of Truth, Non Violence and Civil Disobedience is timeless. His idea of self reliant economy – Atmanirbharta – may have been appropriated by the present dispensation, but world over it is being reexamined as the way forward. Darshan Jariwalla adds, “My experience of essaying Gandhi was deeply transformative. The only way I could express his immense presence was to create an absence within, of my sense of self, dropping my baggage of ego. I realised I need to be merely a medium. A clean mirror without any smudges of my own limited intellect to reflect his glory. When he was saying ‘be the change you want to see’, he wasn’t just saying it but would put it in practice. After understanding the current generation’s energy, resilience and long term vision, I feel happy that we are leaving this country in hopefully very good hands.”
More than anything else, qualities of “Gandhian philosophy “ like simplicity, self control, acceptance, equality, mutual respect, hope and love for humanity is making him relevant in 2026,” Pratik Gandhi says. The veteran actor says, “The Mahatma’s philosophy is deeply rooted in humanity’s core values of peaceful coexistence not only interse our species but with Nature itself. Rajit Kapur says, “The kind of struggles he faced, the biggest learning we get from it is that practice what you preach, and to fight for truth and justice.
In today’s time, that’s even more important.
