Gandhi Page #52

He shifts the mangled notes and comes to his last paragraph.

He speaks it trying only half successfully to keep the emotion

from his voice.

WALKER:

"Whatever moral ascendance the West

held was lost today. India is free

for she has taken all that steel and

cruelty can give, and she has neither

cringed nor retreated."

(On Walker close. His

sweating, blood and

dirt-stained face

near tears.)

"In the words of his followers, 'Long

live Mahatma Gandhi.' "

LORD IRWIN'S OFFICE - INTERIOR - DAY

Silence. The camera moves across the empty room and discovers

Irwin, standing by himself, looking out of the window down

into the street.

Closer. His numb, motionless face is stirred to consciousness

by something outside. He focuses somberly on it.

RAJPATH AND VICE-REGAL PALACE - IRWIN'S POINT OF VIEW -

EXTERIOR - DAY

Through the formal entrance comes a single black car. A

motorcycle policeman precedes it.

VICE-REGAL PALACE - EXTERIOR - DAY

The black car pulls up before the front of the palace and

stops. There is no sign of activity. It is as though the

building and grounds are deserted except for Irwin alone in

his office.

Gandhi gets out of the car. He too is alone. In his dhoti

and shawl he starts to mount the grand stairs.

Wide angle. The great palace, the magnificent entrance, and

the little man in the dhoti, who in a sense has conquered it

all, marching to the great doors. Two Gurkhas spring to

attention and the doors are swung open.

LORD IRWIN'S OFFICE - INTERIOR - DAY

The principal secretary, with a look of faint distaste for

someone out of shot, discreetly moves out of the doors, and

closes them behind him.

Featuring Gandhi, just inside the door. He is looking across

the wide office.

GANDHI:

I am aware that I must have given

you much cause for irritation, your

Excellency. I hope it will not stand

between us as men.

Reverse angle. Irwin is in shadows behind his desk looking,

still, in some kind of shock, staring at Gandhi.

IRWIN:

Mr. Gandhi, I have instructions to

request your attendance at an All-

Government Conference in London to

discuss -- to discuss the possible

Independence of India.

He faces Gandhi stiffly.

The whirr of a camera, and a swift cut to

A SUCCESSION OF BLACK-AND-WHITE "NEWSREEL" SEQUENCES OF

GANDHI'S VISIT TO ENGLAND AND THE ALL-GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE.

Wide screen, but slightly under-cranked with the bad cutting

and predictable music of the old newsreels.

A. Gandhi, Mirabehn and Gandhi's secretary, Desai, waving

goodbye from the boat deck of their ship as it sails --

Mirabehn is holding the tether of a goat -- all of them

smiling at the camera like voyagers everywhere.

B. Gandhi on the steps of Kingsley Hall in the East End of

London being greeted by a cheering crowd. Mirabehn holds an

umbrella over him as he takes a bouquet from a little child.

The now gray-haired Charlie Andrews beams possessively at

his side.

C. Gandhi, in his dhoti, waving to a small crowd as he enters

the gates of Buckingham Palace. A London bobby watches.

D. Gandhi, taking his seat at the conference table among the

formally -- in some Maharajahs' cases, elaborately -- dressed

delegates. A gavel is struck and Ramsay MacDonald begins his

opening address.

MACDONALD:

I think our first duty is to recognize

that there is not one India, but

several:
a Hindu India, a Muslim

India, and India of Princely States.

And all these must be respected --

and cared for -- not just one.

Beneath its unctuous political veneer it is blatantly divisive

and clearly reveals the true intent of the Conference. As

Gandhi looks at MacDonald, we read on his face his perception

of the sad truth.

E. Gandhi, Mirabehn and Charlie walking under an umbrella in

the rain, their heads bent in glum conversation.

F. Gandhi being welcomed and kissed by a group of millworkers

outside a large mill entrance identified by the sign

GREENFIELD COTTON MILL, LANCASHIRE. He is hugged and squeezed

by some hefty female millworkers, all grinning happily, Gandhi

not least.

G. Gandhi in a radio studio, seated at a table, a large

microphone labeled "CBS" before him, technicians and Mirabehn

in the glass booth behind him, Walker across the table from

him, the "On the Air" sign bright...

GANDHI:

(to Walker)

Do I speak into that?

Walker cringes, glancing at the lighted "On the Air" sign.

He signals "Yes" frantically.

GANDHI:

Are they ready? Do I start?

He glances at the booth. Everybody including Walker and

Mirabehn are nodding "Yes." Gandhi shrugs, grins at everyone's

excitement, and begins.

GANDHI:

I am glad to speak to America where

so many friends exist that I know

only in my heart.

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