Swades. We, the people.
So, first things first. Lagaan Vs Swades.
It was Aamir Khan there, its ShahRukh Khan here. It was about ’’victory of team spirit’’, this is about ’’victory of individual spirit’’. It was about ’’winning a match’’ there, it is about ’’lighting a bulb’’ here. But, its Ashutosh Gowariker all the way. Ashutosh heralds a new brand of film-making - that tries to blur the lines between commercial and art cinema.
Swades is NOT Lagaan minus cricket plus ShahRukhKhan. It is much more. It is much less. Much more in the sense that it breaks higher grounds for Indian cinema. Much less in the sense that it doesn’t have the excitement, entertainment and drama. Though the magic of Lagaan is clearly missing, it is a classic in its own right.
Suffering from pangs of ’’man-forget-mom’’ syndrome, Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan), a bright, young scientist working as a project manager in NASA, returns to India to bring his childhood nanny to USA. Mohan’s simple trip becomes a journey in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called ’’Swades’’.
The movie is much more than the homecoming of an NRI (’’Non-Returning Indian’’). It is about an individual’s personal beliefs pitted against a society’s hypocritical potpourri of ’’paramparas and samskritis’’. It is about an individual who wants to change the life of people who dont want to change. It is about how you can be ’’foolishly romantic’’ to make seemingly impossible things happen. It is about the transformation of an individual who is indifferent and cynical to the ways of society, to an individual who doesn’t accept the status-quo and stands for the people, against people. It is about catharsis of basic human emotions that any man goes through while dealing with this change to change. It is about life. It is about you, and me. It is about a billion others who wait for Mohans to change India.
The film brilliantly uses the contrast between the highly developed world of NASA(which has been at the forefront of advances in space research) and the highly impoverished world of Charanpur (which doesn’t even know what a satellite means).
Now, about the three men who bring audiences to the theater:
ASHUTOSH GOWARIKER.
Ashutosh Gowariker tries to be a social-activist, moral-science teacher and a film-maker simultaneously. Ashutosh is incredible in tackling the issues that development throws up on a grass root level. He is absolutely brilliant in teaching simple lessons of life and management. And, his approach to film-making is unquestionably exemplary.
But, Ashutosh’s stickling attention to detail, doesn’t allow the film to pace. It becomes ’’pal pal hai bhari’’ for majority of the audience, who don’t want to think much in the theaters.
Ashutosh might lose all money he got with Lagaan for the simple reason that ’’winning a cricket match’’ is more exciting and entertaining than ’’lighting a bulb’’. But, he has dared to define a grey area between art and commercial cinema, that elevates the standards of the Indian audience. He has given the respect to the Indian audience, and given Bollywood a direction. In a way, he tries to be his protagonist... Mohan Bhargava, and be the change agent of Indian cinema.
SHAH RUKH KHAN.
SRK is brilliant as Mohan Bhargava. Endearing, Energetic and Emphatic.
He gives one of his most honest performances. It is to Ashutosh’s credit that he does it for the King Khan, helping him shed off his lovey-dovey image. Mohan Bhargava will be remembered for a long time, thanks to SRK.
AR RAHMAN.
Needless to say, the music and background score by ARR is excellent. The songs provide much needed relief to the screenplay. The background score wonderfully complements the theme. Without Rahman, the soul of Swades is lost.
Swades is plain, clear and predictable in its approach. That’s because, it pays respect to reality and makes a statement:
To the film-makers: Cinema is not just about manufacturing dreams. It is also about accepting reality.
To the audience: Cinema is not just about entertainment. It is also about seeing yourself somewhere.
If cinema and reality are two different things, Swades is bad cinema.
(reviewed by Vamsi Deepak Gadey)