City palace museum to display Ben Kingsley's 'Gandhi' glasses

The spectacles that Ben Kingsley wore in Richard Attenborough's 1982 biopic "Gandhi" are now on display at the City Palace Museum here.

Oscar award-winning producer David Puttnam presented the glasses to Arvind Singh Mewar, the managing trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation at an event hosted in the honour of Attenborough in London.

Appreciating the hospitality offered to him by the royals of Udaipur during his stay in India, Attenborough decided to present the glasses to the city museum.

"The time we spent in Udaipur was simply miraculous. In my heart, my second home is India and I don't think it will ever change. I know the famed Gandhi's glasses have found a good home where they are likely to be appreciated by many over the coming decades," Attenborough said in a statement.

The iconic glasses will be kept on public display from July 20 onwards in the City Palace Museum.

"This exclusive piece is one of the biggest splashes of any legendary things that we've had before. 'Gandhi' is one of the best movies that represent the epic leader and we are delighted to have the famous glasses worn by Sir Ben Kingsley in our collection," said Arvind Singh Mewar.

Starring Kingsley as Gandhi, the biographical film on Mahatma Gandhi, was nominated for Academy Awards in 11 categories, winning eight, including the Best Picture.