Theatrical release poster.
Dear Friend Hitler (Hindi: प्रिय मित्र हिटलर) released in India as Gandhi to Hitler is a multilingual Indian drama film based on letters written by Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler.
Synopsis[]
The film is set during World War II and centres upon the letters written by Mahatma Gandhi (Avijit Dutt) to Adolf Hitler (Raghubir Yadav), and around the relationship of Hitler with his long-term lover Eva Braun (Neha Dhupia), whom he married in his final days in the Führerbunker in which they died. The film depicts the difference between the ideologies of Gandhi and Hitler and claims the superiority of Gandhism over Nazism.
Reception[]
The film was met with negative reviews. Times of India gave the film 2 stars out of 5, calling it an "unnecessary play with history". NDTVMovies.com criticized the movie for using Indian actors to play all non-Indian characters, using India itself as a stand-in to Europe, and for its "strands".
In Downfall Parodies[]
Many scenes from the film are similar to the ones from Downfall, such as: The scene with Steiner, the planning scene, the Dinner Scene, Hitler is informed about Göring's betrayal, Hitler says goodbye scene, etc. Many scenes however have been shortened and made more dramatic, such as the scene between Magda Goebbels and Albert Speer and Fegelein's capture and execution (that was turned into a single scene).
Notoriousrob01 has created a list of various scenes from the film and compared them with the ones from Downfall. Hitlerrantsparodies has also created a parody.
This film also introduced the Dear Friend Hitler Hitler to the Parody Universe. This Hitler is notable for being the only Hindi speaking Hitler ever, giving him the nickname of Hindi Hitler. He is most prominently used by Hitler Rants Parodies' War of The Hitlers and some other of his parodies featuring multiple Hitlers.
The film itself is said to be somewhat inspired by Downfall, mostly based on the camera work and character interaction and positioning. It should be noted however, that all films about the end of the Third Reich are based on historical facts, therefore similarities will always exist.
Trivia[]
- The theatrical movie poster has an image from Downfall in the background, the scene where Mohnke's group approaches the square. So far the producers of the film have not commented on this issue.
- Hitler is much shorter in the film.
- Goebbels on the other hand is among the tallest characters in the film, even though in real life he wasn't more than 1.63 m.
- Fegelein's capture and execution scenes have been fused together: As soon as the squat enters his room, a gunshot is heard.
- It should be noted, however, that there are many versions of Fegelein's flee and execution. The way it's shown in DFH is similar to the version presented in the documentary Der Bunker - Hitlers Ende, where it's implied that Fegelein was shot trying to escape the squat that was sent to arrest him.
- The scene where Eva begs for his life was also included here and shortened.
- The Original Bunker Scene occurs right after Fegelein's execution.
Gallery[]
