Who directed the 1982 biographical epic 'Gandhi'?

Who directed the 1982 biographical epic Gandhi? The answer is Richard Attenborough.

Attenborough directed and produced Gandhi, a large-scale 1982 film about Mahatma Gandhi and his leadership in India’s independence movement. The screenplay was written by John Briley, while Ben Kingsley played Gandhi in a performance that won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film follows Gandhi from his experiences as a young lawyer in South Africa through the campaigns of nonviolent resistance that challenged British rule in India.

The project was a long-standing ambition for Attenborough, who had wanted to make a Gandhi film for many years. Its production involved international financing and extensive filming in India. The film premiered in New Delhi in November 1982 and became a major critical and commercial success. It won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

A common mix-up is associating the film with David Lean, another celebrated director of historical epics. Lean directed films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, but not Gandhi. The movie presents a dramatic interpretation of Gandhi’s life, so individual scenes should not automatically be treated as literal documentary history.