The auditions for lead pair in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982)—to my mind, in terms of relevance/impact, the greatest film ever set in India—were held in London, with three batches of finalists for the part.

Rohini Hattangadi screen-tested for Kasturba Gandhi, with the British Ben Kingsley, who eventually played the Mahatma. She beat Bhakti Barve and Smita Patil for Kasturba’s role—who had, in turn, auditioned with the English actor John Hurt, and Naseeruddin Shah, respectively.