Divy Nidhi Sharma on Writing Mahatma Gandhi for Freedom at Midnight

The OTT series Freedom at Midnight shows Mahatma Gandhi and his work to stop Partition violence, and co-writer Divy Nidhi Sharma says every generation will find new things about him. Sharma has also worked on scripts for Laapataa Ladies and Sitaare Zameen Par, and his upcoming release is Nayi Naveli.

Writing About Gandhi

Sharma explains that Gandhi was the most influential person in India in the last hundred years and called him a living miracle. To prepare for the show, Sharma relied on his own reading of history books and documents. He points out that Gandhi cared about big world politics as well as small things like neighborhood cleanliness, saving paper, and food habits. He believes Gandhi is more than just a person and represents a complete way of life.

Humanising Bapu

The main difficulty in writing the series was showing Gandhi as an ordinary human being rather than just a public figure. Sharma notes that the team wanted to portray a person who could feel disappointed and question his own ideals while keeping his dignity intact. He credits director Nikkhil Advani, actor Chirag Vohra, and the whole crew for working hard on this human side. He also adds that Indians often turn people into demigods, but Gandhi was human, made mistakes, and openly spoke about his own weaknesses in his books.

Future Plans

Sharma wants to do much more work on Gandhi in the future because he feels ten times more stories can still be told. Outside of this project, Sharma is also the creator and showrunner of the OTT series Chiraiyya, and his next movie release as a writer is Nayi Naveli, which stars Yami Gautam.

Context

Biographical dramas on OTT platforms often try to show historical figures beyond textbook definitions to connect better with younger audiences. Bringing historical leaders to the screen requires deep research into their personal lives and habits alongside major political events. Exploring these figures helps keep historical debates alive in modern popular culture.