A HUNDRED years after he began his campaign of non-violent civil disobedience, Mahatma Gandhi\'s popularity is hitting fresh heights - thanks to a Bollywood romantic comedy.
Indians yesterday were rushing to cinemas in record numbers to see Lage Raho Munnabhai (Carry On Munnabhai).
Released 10 days ago, the film had taken 1.05 billion rupees ($30million) at the Indian box office by Monday, which was the 100th anniversary of Gandhi\'s Satyagraha movement.
It is rated as the most popular Bollywood release of the year in Britain and the US.
The plot revolves around Munna, a small-time Mumbai crook played by Sanjay Dutt, who cheats to win a radio quiz about the life of Gandhi. When the inevitably beautiful radio presenter, played by Vidya Balan, invites him to give a lecture on Gandhi, a love-struck Munna hits the library to research his teachings.
There, an apparition of Gandhi - played by Dilip Prabhavalkar - appears to give him advice on his professional, spiritual and love life.
"It was a fine line to strike a balance between humour and the Gandhian message," director Rajkumar Hirani said.
"But Gandhi was a man who spoke to the people. And if he was alive today, this is how he would be speaking to them."
It is a light-hearted movie, complete with Bollywood song-and-dance ensembles.
Some critics have compared it to Woody Allen\'s 1972 film Play It Again Sam, in which the ghost of Humphrey Bogart gives dating advice to a neurotic divorcee.
But it also makes a serious point about the need for tolerance, restraint and self-sacrifice.
The film appears to have revived interest in Gandhi\'s life and teachings - especially among the young - where many serious works, and political campaigns, have failed.
A recent survey by the Economic Times newspaper asked Indian students and young business leaders to name their greatest icon. Bill Gates won with 37per cent, ahead of Gandhi on 30 per cent.
In the past week, however, books by and about Gandhi are reported to have been in huge demand. Leaders of India\'s ruling Congress party have proposed that senior members should see the film to mark the centenary of Satyagraha.
Gandhi started the campaign while working in South Africa in 1906 to protest against racial discrimination against the country\'s Indian community.
On his return to India in 1916, he used the same tactics to campaign for independence from British colonial rule, before being assassinated by a Hindu radical in 1948.
His non-violent doctrine later became an inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr and for South Africa\'s peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy.
The film\'s light-hearted portrayal has raised eyebrows among some "Gandhians" who campaigned alongside the mahatma.
But many are also relieved to see him portrayed in a human and humorous light.
by Jeremy Page