The makers of Gandhi and My Mother unveiled new pictures from the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer on Gandhi Jayanti, keeping the spotlight on one of the year’s most talked-about transformations.

Bajpayee plays Mahatma Gandhi for the first time in the Sudhir Mishra-directed period drama, with a shaved head, khadi loincloth, round glasses and a wooden lathi. The film focuses on a lesser-known 21-day chapter of Gandhi’s life around India’s independence in 1947.

Mishra has said the concept grew from a promise to his late mother, Durga Devendra Nath Mishra, who had met Gandhi as a child. The project is backed by Anubhav Sinha and Narendra Hirawat under Benaras Mediaworks and NH Studioz, with Saurabh Shukla in a key role.

The film is currently being shot in Lucknow. A title and release date have not yet been announced.

The first-look image unveiled on September 6 showed Bajpayee virtually unrecognisable, with reports saying he dropped considerable weight and lived on a restricted diet for the role. The shoot opened in Lucknow’s Narhi locality near the zoo, with vintage cars, 1940s-style costumes and period signboards. Divya Dutta also features in the cast, alongside Saurabh Shukla.