Swades ()
Genre: Drama
Released: 17th Dec ‘04
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Cast: SRK, Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Balal
( Exceptional, Brilliant, Good, Average, * Avoidable)
Story NOT revealed in the review!
In short: This movie is easy on eyes and mind. No sex, no violence, but probably one song too many. It is worth spending 3 hours 21 minutes with your family and friends.
The highlights:
A clean and healthy movie J (finally! Huh?),
good music and great background score (thanks to A R Rahman),
a lot of attention to details
Shahrukh Khan
The let-downs:
Editing is not up to the mark – a couple of songs could have been chipped off, a few scenes could have been trimmed too.
The limiting factors:
Sermonizing nature of the movie.
Outstanding music score has been limited due to an average choreography effort.
A little more about the movie: This movie mainly concentrates on the issue of brain-drain. Also, some other relevant issues being faced by India at the grass-root level are explored. A successful professional working with NASA comes back to India in search of his nanny who lives in a small village in Uttaranchal. What follows is an emotionally balanced drama which you can easily identify with.
The idea of the story and some sequences may not be entirely original but the narration is. The director has given attention to details which you will notice throughout the movie. You will never be asking yourself, “How did that happen?” Editing and choreography are average. Cinematography is fabulous. Music sounds good and could have had a better impact if choreography was a bit more imaginative.
Acting Performances: Gayatri makes a confident debut. She tends to express a bit too much with her face at times. Kishori Balal as the nanny is credible. SRK is the heart and the soul of the movie. He has essayed a difficult role with perfection. He plays a sensible and rational human being. It is definitely one of the best from SRK if not the best!
Thumbs up to Shahrukh for his acting prowess and to Ashutosh for yet again trying a movie that is so different.