Trivia: Ben Kingsley was offered the title role only after Alec Guinness and Anthony Hopkins turned it down.
Gandhi (1982)
2 trivia entries
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth
Factual error: Jan Christiaan Smuts is referred to as the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa in this film when Gandhi is there. Smuts didn't gain the office until 1919, after the death of Prime Minister Louis Botha. Gandhi left South Africa in 1914 and never returned.
Gandhi: You're a temptress.
Margaret Bourke-White: Just an admirer.
Gandhi: Nothing is more dangerous, especially for an old man.
Question: What reason did the British general give for having opened fire on the unarmed crowd?
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Answer: Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer has said his intent "was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience." Earlier that day, Dyer has banned all meetings to avoid any insurrection, but many still gathered to celebrate and protest. Dyer saw it as defiance of his order and thought it could be another mob insurgent he had seen earlier. Some reports also state while the crowd was "unarmed", that only referred to being unarmed with firearms and many in the crowd did have other types of weapons. It also seems at the time it was standard practice for the British Army to use necessary lethal force for civilian crowd control, although many saw Dyer's action to be in excess.
Bishop73