Nikkhil Advani: Total silence when Chirag Vora walked in as Mahatma Gandhi on ‘Freedom at Midnight’ set

Mumbai: Filmmaker-producer Nikkhil Advani, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming streaming show ‘Freedom at Midnight’, has spoken up on the casting of Mahatma Gandhi in the show.

Actor Chirag Vora, who is known for his work in ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’, essays the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the series, and Nikkhil struck gold with this casting.

The team went through various renditions before cracking the final look. With only a handful of people working on the look, it was a pressure test for the team when Chirag in his final look came on the set.

Nikkhil, who is the showrunner and the director of the series, said, “Have you ever felt anxious? This is what we were all going through while we were preparing to shoot with Gandhi ji on set. I was sure in my heart but at that moment I was second guessing myself as I have been working on this very closely. For my team and me it was actually the moment of truth. But what happened next was simply unbelievable. The entire crew who was busy putting the screen together just stood in silence”.

He further mentioned, “The challenge lay in capturing the essence of Gandhi ji, especially in his younger years, as very few know what he looked like during that time. However, the moment Chirag stepped onto the set as Gandhi ji, there was absolute silence. It was a powerful reminder that both the older and younger generations still deeply respect him”.

The series also stars Sidhant Gupta, Rajendra Chawla, Arif Zakaria, Ira Dubey, Malishka Mendonsa, Rajesh Kumar, KC Shankar, Luke McGibney, Cordelia Bugeja, Alistair Finlay, Andrew Cullum and Richard Teverson in pivotal roles.

The show is produced by Emmay Entertainment (Monisha Advani & Madhu Bhojwani) in association with StudioNext, and has been penned by Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng Das, Gundeep Kaur, Divya Nidhi Sharma, Revanta Sarabhai, and Ethan Taylor.

Adapted from the eponymous book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, the series delves deep into the tumultuous events surrounding India’s struggle for independence.

‘Freedom at Midnight’ is set to drop in November on Sony LIV.

–IANS