Mahatma Gandhi’s aversion to cinema is well-recorded in the pages of history. There is a succession of quotes where he espouses the evils of watching film. There are only two recorded instances of him watching movies: Michael Curtiz’s Mission to Moscow and Vijay Bhatt’s Ram Rajya (curiously, both are from 1943).
His encounter with Charlie Chaplin was marked by Chaplin’s awe and his ignorance of who Chaplin was. Despite all this, the rendition of his favourite bhajan that he liked the most was by an actress and singer of the cinema. It is believed that Gandhi was enamoured by Amirbai Karnataki’s rendition of Vaishnava Jana To. Amirbai’s soulful singing of the bhajan, which was immensely popular in the 40s and 50s, is very different from the tune we know and associate with the Mahatma today.
Source: Once Upon a Cinema: The golden voice of Amirbai Karnataki-Entertainment News , Firstpost