2004 ‘स्वदेस’ Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
NASA employee Mohan Bhargav comes to India to take his grandmother along with him at his home abroad. During his stay at his native place, he comes across various social issues faced by the villagers and decides to take a stand for them, to improve their quality of life.
Ronnie Screwvala Ashutosh Gowariker Ayan Mukherjee Amin Hajee Lalit Marathe Sameer Sharma Charlotte Whitby-Coles Yashodeep Nigudkar M. G. Sathya
Swades: We, the People
Here is what I learned about India while watching Swades. They have the steering wheel on the right side of the car, which everyone knows is the wrong side. They also have a specific way in which they shake their heads; it's not a "no", it's not a "yes", but a wobbly combination of the two. They sometimes bend down to touch other person's feet with their hand as a sign of great respect for that person, who is usually older. The word "dhaba" is used to refer to restaurants which serve food of Indian cuisine, depending on the region. Their films are usually very sentimental, unsubtle and corny. India, like many other countries on this globe, has a real…
Re- watching Swades and it always makes me wonder how a story portrayed about India and its people 16 years ago and written even before is still relevant... It's a true gem. One of the best Indian movies of all time.! Highly recommended.
When Swades first released in 2004, my family was in a flux. We had returned from Toronto in just six months because my father was convinced that he'd committed a huge mistake by deciding to leave India for a foreign land.
Naturally, my uncles (wishing the best for our family, of course) gave the film a hearty thumbs down when it released, telling my dad that it was pretty terrible, long, boring and all that sort of stuff. Total time waste. But when my dad left for Canada again, to try to settle there for good this time, the rest of my rather large extended family sat down to watch the film.
I didn't get it. I was eight or…
comprised almost entirely of heavy handed metaphors and messages, some of which i agree with and some i don't, but despite how blunt the story is it's so gently presented that i really sunk into it...such beautiful scenery/soft lighting/songs/score, and a weightless, natural, breathtaking SRK performance. ultimately comes down to the inherent responsibility one should feel for their planet and fellow human beings ("like a lamp on your porch giving light to your neighbor's house"), and as saccharine as that may be i do believe it. made me profoundly sad and lonely in a weird way, because lately i've been thinking so much about how fucked up white americans are and wondering how much of that comes from living in…
"Timeless" is the word to define this film!!
Watched it for the third time and the best part about this film is that it becomes more relevant with time.If you want to understand India at its core, watch this film. Its dialogues have roots in India's core issues that remain unsolved even after so many years of Independence. I am not shocked that this film flopped at the box office, good films rarely work in Bollywood.
Swades is the film that changed or say inculcated a new perspective about being an Indian, being a patriot. It did something magical inside me that transcended my understanding of self. Unlike Lagaan, which was overtly and inherently jingoistic; or Gadar that was out and out loud, adrenaline-pumping patriotic action film; Swades was on the other end of the spectrum - the understated tone, muted cinematography and minimalist yet piercing drama spoke spiritually. It has close semblance with its lead protagonist - Mohan Bhargav who gives shape to our indescribable torrential emotion. When Mohan comes to India in search of his Kaveri Amma, it was his guilt of neglecting Kaveri Amma, but hardly he realised that Kaveri Amma would metaphorize…
This is my most favourite Bollywood movie ever. It has a great story, pretty decent dialogue and excellent music. But I’ll tell you why I really love this movie—because it is nothing like anything Bollywood has ever produced before.
I do not remember watching any other Shah Rukh Khan movie where he forgot that he was SRK and just became the character he was playing. The acting in this movie does not feel like actors reading from a script, which is what watching any other Bollywood movie feels like. The acting is so good that it recedes into the background. That’s what makes me like Hollywood movies and that’s what this movie gets right.
I cannot emphasise how important that…
How have I gotten so far without seeing this incredible movie? Absolutely one of the best Hindi movies I've seen. An incredible story with stirring emotions and thought-provoking ideas, which are as impactful today as they were when this movie first came out over 10 years ago.
Just as in Dil Se, Shahrukh Khan's sweet love story and family drama, while beautiful, becomes overshadowed by more pressing and immediate troubles as he comes to realize the sad state of affairs in rural India. Starvation, discrimination, and lack of education plague those around him in the small town he's visiting, and he sees no other option but to help in any way he can.
A.R. Rahman totally knocked it out of the park here, incredible soundtrack.
This has really good reviews and high ratings on here...I just don’t get why?
This honestly bored me that I don’t know how on earth they made it 3 hours long?
It didn’t make me feel anything...no emotion and I find emotion in anything! There was no chemistry the only reason I knew they liked each other was from the subtitles!! The only one that showed anything was the little boy!
And then when I went to switch off it randomly turned into a musical?? So I carried on for the next hour and it got a bit better but honestly not much!
The only positives though were the stunning scenery in India. Absolutely beautiful. The colours were so bright and wonderful!
I feel a bit like I missed something along the way, but no way am I watching it again to find out.
Finally the last and most curious one Indian movie in the imdb top 250 is done.
And like lagaan gowariker made it fine. Great emotional and really romantic story. I have absolute no idea why this is only categorized as drama and not as romance too. I mean the whole movie is build of it.
All in all I really enjoyed this. Music is great, khan well acted and gita is absolutely beautiful. The only thing why this will remain as secound place in my upcoming Indian movie ranking is that the ending was too easy made. Three hours building for the end and all the emotionality from before don’t play a role anymore. Really disappointing and predictable for great three hours before.
Patriotism at its cinematic best, with Shahrukh Khan's career best performance, AR Rahman's magical symphony and above all Ashutosh Gowarikkar's awe-inspiring craftsmanship.
This is a simple yet a great movie. It has colours of patriotism along with the harsh truth and reality
Main nahi manta hamara desh duniya ka sabse mahaan desh hai. Lekin yeh zaroor manta hoon ki hum mein kabliyat hai, taqat hai, apne desh ko mahaan banane ki
Amazing story of a man reconnecting with his roots. Great performance from Shah Rukh Kahn.
This movie both didn't meet and exceeded expectations at the same time. And I think a lot of it came from Ashutosh Gowariker having to follow Lagaan with this movie. That same type of national appeal alongside Bollywood stereotypical scenes didn't really translate when you have the main character be in a position that a lot of Indians don't find themselves in. Also, Gowariker obviously has a problem with editing. The length of this movie is not warranted; the first half could have easily had cuts. But, regardless, I think the way the movie tackled the topics of guilt, pride, and belonging are admirable. Neatly packaged in this Bollywood genre, I don't think many people consider this to be a…
Never watched an Indian movie such conceptual and contentious as Swades now in 2021. Although Satyajit Ray is the master of film making for India, but Ashutosh Gowariker actually nailed that type of movie with Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan playing an unusual role in his career. Might be the best role he ever played in any of his movies.
I wish this film was more successful at the box office and also wish King Khan did film more films like this one which gave precedence to substance over style.The soundtrack by AR Rahman is GOLD
A slightly cynical person would be scoffing at how optimistic and kind this film is. I don't know if I am that person or not.
The film is one big film made of 3 mini-films, spurred on initially by Mohan’s own selfish reasons i.e., he wants ms.Kaveri to return with him to the USA. Along the way he discovers the reality of village life in India and acts as the outsider who tries to make things right. It’s a bit optimistic of the movie to expect such large changes to be done in a kumbaya fashion, but maybe that’s what we all need sometimes. The beauty of the country is magnificently portrayed.
Gowariker's best movie imo. Less melodrama, realistic acting, top notch story amd a cinematic brilliance. Why did he stop making such films?
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