Hyderabad: Today’s movies are bigger than ever. With huge budgets, amazing special effects, and advanced technology, both Indian and world cinema are growing fast. We see giant battles, flying superheroes, and massive crowds on screen — all made using VFX and CGI.
But did you know there’s one movie that still holds a world record — and it didn’t use any computer effects at all? This film, based on India’s history, did something no other movie has done till today.
Gandhi – The Film That Used 300,000 Real People
In 1982, the movie Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, made history by filming a scene with over 300,000 real people. The scene showed Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral, and it needed a massive crowd to look real and powerful.
The shooting took place in Delhi on January 31, 1981, exactly 33 years after Gandhi’s real funeral. The team brought together 94,560 paid extras and over 200,000 volunteers. Actor Ben Kingsley, who played Gandhi, lay quietly as thousands walked around him. It was a moment filled with real emotion — no tricks, no green screens.
A Two-Minute Scene That Took a Giant Effort
Even though the scene was only about two minutes long, it took a huge effort to plan and shoot. The Indian Army and many local groups helped control the crowd. Eleven camera teams filmed the scene, and the director made sure everything was perfect. The scene earned a Guinness World Record for using the most extras in a film — a record that no movie has broken yet.
In today’s world, most crowd scenes are done using CGI. But Gandhi showed that using real people can make a film feel more powerful and true. It wasn’t just a scene — it was a tribute to Gandhi’s life. And even after all these years, this moment in cinema is still remembered as something truly special.
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