It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When his dream finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. Attenborough takes such inherently uncinematic episodes as Gandhi's fasting and make them come vividly to life on screen. The director remains firmly in control in the spectacle scenes, notably the horrendous "slaughter" sequence just before intermission, in which more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The stellar supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the Viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day Lewis. Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.