Film Recommendation - Swades: We, the people (2004)
Patriotism might not be an easy feeling to define, but it is certainly a powerful one. Over the years, Indian Cinema has portrayed this emotion in various films such as Lakshya, Border, and Krantiveer, and the such. On the eve of our 74th Independence day, I sat down to re-watch one of such film. Now considered as a cult classic of Hindi cinema, at the time of it's release it was considered as one of the 'path-breaking' films. After directing the successful Academy Award-nominated film Lagaan (2001) Ashutosh Gowariker’s next directorial venture Swades: We, the people (2004) was a box office flop, however was reviewed as a film that was ahead of its times. The word Swadesh is a hindi word that refers to one's homeland. The story begins with a young man Mohan Bhargava who is an Indian ex-pat serving at NASA in the United States as a Project Manager. Despite having his comfortable life and a dream job, he suffers from a continued dissatisfaction because of the guilt he f...