| Dear Friend Hitler | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Rakesh Ranjan Kumar[1] |
| Produced by | Dr. Anil Kumar Sharma |
| Screenplay by | Rakesh Ranjan Kumar |
| Story by | Nalin Singh Rakesh Ranjan Kumar |
| Starring | Raghubir Yadav Neha Dhupia Aman Verma[1] |
| Music by | Arvind-Lyton |
| Cinematography | Fuwad Khan |
| Editing by | Shree Narayan Singh |
| Distributed by | Amrapali Media Vision Pvt. Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | July 29, 2011[2] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Dear Friend Hitler (Hindi: प्रिय मित्र हिटलर) released in India as Gandhi to Hitler [2] is a multilingual Indian drama film based on letters written by Mahatma Gandhi to the leader of the Nazi Party and Chancellor of Germany Adolf Hitler. The film, starring Raghubir Yadav as Adolf Hitler and Neha Dhupia as Eva Braun, was directed by debutant Rakesh Ranjan Kumar and produced by Anil Kumar Sharma under the production house Amrapali media vision. The film's promotion was screened at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival where it received positive reviews.[3][4] Film Business Asia quoted that "despite the provocative title, the film is not a tribute to the murderous Führer".[5] The film was scheduled to release on July 29, 2011 in India.[6]
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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 Berlin bunker in which they died. The film depicts the difference between the ideologies of Gandhi and Hitler and claims the superiority of Gandhism over Nazism.[7]
The main cast of the film is:[8]
Anupam Kher had originally agreed to play the role of Hitler, but he later backed out after Jewish organisations in India condemned him for playing the part because of Hitler's massacre of millions of Jews.[9][10] The filmmakers accused Kher of not returning the 4 lakhs he had been paid after signing the contract and consequently sued him for 2.5 crores. However, Kher perceived it as a way of filmmakers to promote their film before the release.[11]
British newspaper, The Guardian, declared the film to be profoundly misguided and to show a shocking ignorance of history. Noah Massil, president of the Central Organization of Indian Jews in Israel (COIJI) stated that "he would write to President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in order to prevent bringing disrepute to Indian entertainment industry", but the filmmakers claimed that the film does not glorify Hitler, but rather juxtaposes him against Gandhi's ideology of peace.[12][13]
| “ | We clarified that the movie is not about Hitler's ideology, but how his ideology of violence conflicts with Gandhi's ideology of peace. There is no glorification of Hitler's character | ” |
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— Anil Kumar Sharma, The Times of India[4]
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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".[14] DNAIndia.com gave the movie one star.[15]. 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".[16] Koimoi.com gave the film 0.5/5; although it praised Yadav's performance as Hitler, it criticized the film's script, direction, technical values, soundtrack, and the performance from other actors.[17]