Film Recommendation - Swades: We, the people (2004)

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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 feels for abandoning his childhood nanny who took care of him even after the demise of his parents. He decides to travel back to India and convinces her to come with him, this time allowing himself to care for her. But the journey back to his homeland ends up changing his life and reintroducing him to his sense of belonging.

The plot of the movie is quite simplistic, but the director enlarges the subplot to effectively deal with the issues of communal and societal evils. His writing is strongly focused and like Lagaan, Swades too tells the story of good triumphing over bad. But in Swades, the enemy is the evil within, and not the country, not an organization, nor a group of people. Swades touches rampant issue of rural India that are still relevant today: about the caste system, poverty, education, women’s empowerment, child labor, social harmony, social activism, and most important duty toward our motherland in those 3 hours. The heavy subject matter, serves to justify the length of the film.

Presentation-wise Swades has a very documentary, realistic feel. Shahrukh Khan as Mohan Bhargava has delivered an extraordinary performance. Debutant Gayatri Joshi as Gita (Mohan’s love interest) has handled her role with immense maturity. The supporting roles were performed to perfection. Music by the maestro A.R. Rahman penned by Javed Akhtar adds beauty to the movie. Screenplay written by Ashutosh Gowariker and K.P. Saxsena is excellent.

A simple journey of self-realization, Swades is a must-see for every Indian, not to be educated about his or her country’s problems, but rather to be reminded about a responsibility to act and make a difference. I hope you catch this on Netflix, if you haven't already or revisit it to see the magic again.

Happy Independence Day!


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