Tom Felton Joins Hansal Mehta Series ‘Gandhi’ As British Friend Of Indian Nonviolent Resistance Icon; James Murray Among Other International Cast
EXCLUSIVE: Harry Potter star Tom Felton has boarded Gandhi, the Hansal Mehta-directed streaming series about the iconic Indian nonviolent resistance leader from Applause Entertainment.
Felton will play Josiah Oldfield, Gandhi’s first and best friend during a period he spent in London while studying law. Pratik Gandhi (no relation) is playing Gandhi, as we reported back in May 2022, and we can reveal his real-life partner, Bhamini Oza, will play Kasturba Gandhi, the Mahatma’s wife.
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The period drama series has been billed as India’s answer to The Crown, and several scenes are being shot in London this month. As such, British actors James Murray (Masters of the Air, The Crown), Jonno Davies (Better Man, Hunters), Molly Wright (Apostasy), Simon Lennon (Bridgerton, Our Girl), Ralph Adeniyi (The Tunnel, Queenie), Libby Mai (The Chelsea Detective, We are Lady Parts) and Lindon Alexander (Undercover, The Gold) are joining Felton in the cast. Sameer Nair’s Applause Enteertainment is producing.
Oldfield, one of the co-founders of the Vegetarian Society of London and an admirer of Indian culture, was influential in Gandhi’s life after a chance meeting brought them together. The Englishman encouraged Gandhi to write for the Vegetarian Magazine and later allowed his friend to live with him, when Gandhi realized he hand been squandering his family’s money on the trappings of London life.
“I’m excited to be part of the journey of telling the story of Gandhi’s early years in London,” said Felton. “It’s an important aspect of history that hasn’t been told on screen before, and to be working with Hansal and Pratik is an honour and pleasure.”
Felton is known for his role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, as well as roles in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Feed and Netflix pic The Forgotten Battle. On TV, he was a series regular on season 3 of The Flash, starred in YouTube sci-fi drama Origins and recently appeared in Sky telefilm Save the Cinema. He made his West End stage debut in 2022 in 2:22 A Ghost Story and will next be seen on stage in A Child of Science at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre. His recent memoir Beyond the Wand was a New York and Sunday Times bestseller.
Filming on Gandhi has been taking place in India before this month moving to London.
The series, which Applause will shop to Indian streaming services once it is completed, is based on noted historian Ramachandra Guha’s books ‘Gandhi Before India’ and ‘Gandhi – The Years that Changed the World’, which are considered two of the most authoritative texts on the Indian political icon. This takes in Gandhi’s younger years in India, the UK and South Africa.
“We are excited to bring together an exceptional ensemble cast from across the globe, each adding their own unique brilliance to this monumental tale,” said Sameer Nair, Managing Director of Applause. “With Hansal Mehta at the helm, and the incomparable Pratik Gandhi embodying the spirit of Gandhi, we aim to propel our Indian series onto the global stage with resounding impact.”
“Working with an exceptionally talented cast has been nothing but a privilege,” added Mehta. “The casting of some exceptional international actors to our ensemble is even more exciting as we prepare to take our labour of love to audiences worldwide.
“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s story, particularly his more formative years spent in London and South Africa, is a story for our times, an untouched but fertile tale of a young man who goes on a voyage of self-discovery, not knowing the impact he’d have on history and on our collective consciousness. I feel truly honoured to have gotten the opportunity to bring this epic tale to life.”
Mehta is director and showrunner, with Vaibhav Vishal, Karan Vyas, Felix Von Stumm, Hema Gopinath, Sehaj Maini and Yashna Malhotra the writers. Script advisors are Guha, Siddhartha Bay and ScriptUp Studio, a London-based script advisory. Mukesh Chhabra lead casting in India and Shakyra Dowling does the same internationally. Shashank Tere leads of production design, Pia Benegal is overseeing costumes and Pratham Mehta leads on cinematography.
The first episodes of Gandhi, which has been developed as a multi-season drama, will look to shed light on the lesser-known parts of Gandhi’s life, showcasing pivotal moments and formative experiences that led to the development of his famously unbreakable will and political views, which were crucial to India gaining independence from the British Empire in 1947. Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948.
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