Talking to The Indian Express after a showing of the play at Gandhi Darshan in Delhi this week, Sharma explains his reasons for writing the piece. ``It is a reply to Pradeep Dalvi's Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy,'' he says. Dalvi's play, which presented the viewpoint of Gandhi's assassin in a favourable light, had caused a furore and Sharma, though he could not see the play, had heard its audio version. ``In the end, it (the play) asked people to go out and destroy Gandhi's images and tear up his posters,'' says Sharma. Irked by Dalvi's attitude, Sharma decided to pen his own play.

Of course, after the first showing of Dalvi's play, the Hindutva brigade got into action. ``The play was to be staged at several locations in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti, but the Hindu Mahasabha, Bhartiya Bhakt Utsav Samiti and the Yuva Chetna Manch, all got together, and prevented the showings,'' reveals Sharma.

Basically a writer and director, Sharma chose to act in his play himself because of the element of risk involved. And though it would have certainly allowed him more freedom, Sharma also decided against extending the time-frame of his play. For, it would have qualified for censorship had it been longer than 15 minutes. In the play, Godse beseeches Gandhi for forgiveness, for he has no peace even though 50 years have passed since his death and people continue to use his name to promote their petty political interests. As to whether Godse would ever have done so in reality, Sharma says: ``I cannot be certain, but he might have. Gandhi's philosophy is great and Godse might have repented''.