MUMBAI: In a landmark moment for Indian storytelling, Gandhi, the sweeping international series by Applause Entertainment and filmmaker Hansal Mehta, is set to make its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Selected as part of TIFF’s prestigious primetime programme, it is the first Indian series ever to feature in the festival’s showcase of auteur-driven episodic storytelling.
Starring Pratik Gandhi in the titular role, Gandhi is adapted from historian Ramachandra Guha’s definitive biographies and charts the early, lesser-known years of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The first season, titled An Untold Story of Becoming (1888–1915), traces his formative years from a curious teen in colonial India to a struggling law student in London and a young barrister in South Africa—long before the Mahatma was born.
“To have Gandhi selected for TIFF’s Primetime showcase is both an honour and a moment of immense pride; not just for Applause, but for Indian storytelling. Taking you up close and personal to the young Mohan way before he became the man history knows, this series is the culmination of deep research, creative development, and unwavering belief in the human story we wanted to tell,” said Applause Entertainment managing director Sameer Nair. “TIFF will be the first time our Gandhi will be seen by audiences. To begin that journey on a global platform of such import, is the perfect start and we can’t wait for the world to discover him.”
For Hansal Mehta, the director and showrunner, TIFF holds special significance. “Gandhi has been the most creatively challenging and soul-stirring journey of my career. It’s not just a story from our past—it’s a meditation on conscience, a portrait of a man in constant conflict with himself and his times,” explained Mehta. ”TIFF has previously been home to some of my most precious pieces of work, and to have perhaps the most ambitious story of my career premiering there is doubly special—particularly in TIFF’s 50th year. To share this journey at a festival that has embraced me over the years is both humbling and surreal. I hope it opens the door for more Indian series to find their place on the world stage.”
The Gandhi premiere will see key cast and crew in attendance, including Sameer Nair, Hansal Mehta, Pratik Gandhi, Tom Felton, Kabir Bedi and Siddharth Khaitan. The series boasts a powerhouse creative team with music by A.R. Rahman and writing by Vaibhav Vishal, Karan Vyas, Felix von Stumm, Hema Gopinathan, Sehaj Kaur Maini and Yashna Malhotra. Script development was supported by Siddhartha Basu and Ramachandra Guha, with casting by Mukesh Chhabra (India) and Shakyra Dowling (International).
TIFF’s primetime section has previously hosted series by the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Shawn Levy and Steven Knight. With Gandhi entering this rarefied space, Indian long-form storytelling may have finally arrived on the world stage.